Rekindling Stars
by LiR
Summary: It's Usagi's turn to try and win Seiya's love. She does the only thing she can think of to be close to Seiya, become a Starlight... but Kakyuu has other plans for her. *Yuri*
1. Sailor Star Lover, Stage On!

Hi, it's me again. I know the beginning to this story may seem a little far fetched, but then again, what plot in Sailor Moon isn't far fetched? With that said, I don't want anyone flaming me saying `Oh LIR, that would never happen!' or `LIR, Kakyuu wouldn't do that.' If you know what I mean. For now the rating on this is R but if mood strikes me, I'll be turning it into NC-17, (the mood always strikes me! ^.~)  
  
Thank you everyone for your great reviews of my other story, and thank you again Ms Monypeny for giving me the title to this fic.  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady In Red  
  
She missed her, she missed her more than mere words could express. The loneliness was becoming all too much for her to take lately and if she didn't find an escape she would surely drown in her own ocean of tears. "Achk, how cliché." She said out loud, separate from her thoughts.  
  
She was the Princess of a lost Utopia, one that existed so many years ago on the moon. Usagi sat in silence, letting her thoughts get the better of her, as she had done many of times before this one. They were all the same thoughts, and no new revelations were coming from them. It was getting old, this problem of hers, and if she didn't do something about it soon, she would get dragged down with it.  
  
The inner senshi had grown apart in a sense, with no high school and no battles there was really no reason for them to collectively get together. Usagi tried to pretend that it didn't bother her so much, she didn't want anyone to worry about her, and no one did. They all assumed that now that everything was settling down and Usagi had Mamoru back things would be better, quieter... but they weren't. Mamoru had grown just as distant as the senshi had from Usagi, but there was no one around to notice their separation, no one there to bring them back together. They had both long sense lost the hope of ever seeing Chibi-Usa again, though the subject never came up in conversation.  
  
All of these depressing thoughts lead her to that inevitable thought, Seiya. Why did she dwell on her so much? It had been years since they had last seen one another, and Usagi felt the pain of every waking moment. She wished more than anything that she could see Seiya just one more time, even just to see how his life had turned out, just for a moment. It was decided... she would go to Kinmoku in search of Seiya.  
  
Earth held nothing for her any longer, and there was no real reason to stay behind. Usagi stood from her seat and watched as the sun tucked itself behind the distant mountains for the night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Usagi waited anxiously in the private quarters of the Princess of Kinmoku. Not interested in anything around her, her thoughts once again crept up on her. She was really here, really on Kinmoku. She was going to see the Starlights again. Her stomach was doing some of the oddest things she had ever felt. This was the first time in a long time that Usagi had been truly happy.  
  
"Sailor Moon?" Kakyuu questioned as she entered the room alone leaving her normal bodyguards to wait outside the door. Usagi stood and greeted Kakyuu with a hug, which neither of them had really been expecting, but Usagi was ready to bounce off the walls.  
  
"Kakyuu, how have you been?"  
  
"Just fine and you?" Kakyuu stared back at the blond questioningly, she truly had no idea why she had come here, and without senshi guard.  
  
A smile crossed Usagi's face as she looked directly in to Kakyuu's eyes. "I've been better. That is why I have come here. I wanted to become part of your senshi army."  
  
"Nani?!" Kakyuu was taken back a moment until she felt Usagi take her hand.  
  
"Please, I wish to protect you in any way I can." Usagi bowed down before the red haired princess.  
  
Kakyuu truly did not know what to think of her actions and her mind raced to unimaginable conclusions. "But you are a Princess... a Princess of the same status as myself. Why would you want to denounce your throne and serve here?"  
  
Usagi stood, "I have no throne to denounce, the ruler of Earth is Prince Endymion, I was to marry him in the future, but that doesn't seem so any more." She moved to the window adjacent to the large table. "I want to see her again..."  
  
Kakyuu now knew immediately why she had come. "To see Fighter again?" She questioned to make sure she was right.  
  
Usagi turned from the window with a smile. "Yes, to see Fighter again."  
  
"But to become part of my army just to see her is unnecessary."  
  
"No, I want to become part of your army so that I may live and be with her everyday of my remaining life." She couldn't believe that she was professing her affection to Kakyuu this way, but it must be done so that she may accept her as her senshi.  
  
Kakyuu winced at her statement. Those words had stung, and hurt her deep down. "You wish to become a Starlight?" Usagi nodded and bowed down once again in front of Kakyuu. "Well you have certainly proven the worth of your shine, and I would be a fool to not accept your power on my side, but there is one more thing."  
  
Usagi looked up, taking Kakyuu's hand into her own. "Anything..." She lightly kissed the woman's hand.  
  
"You must not tell the others who you are."  
  
"Nani?" Usagi jerked back. "Doushite?"  
  
Kakyuu came and set her hands on Usagi's shoulders ushering her up to her level. "I can not be sure that Fighter feels the same way for you. If you tell her who you are, she may just pretend to be nice to you, but if you do not, then we shall see her true feelings." Kakyuu was lying but didn't feel that she should reveal her true intentions just yet.  
  
"Won't she recognize me?"  
  
"No, you are becoming a Starlight. You will receive a Starlight fuku and wear your hair in the traditional low pony tail." Kakyuu traced the blonde's shoulders to come up and hold her face with her hands. "Welcome home my Starlight." She said as she kissed her cheek and transforming her as her senshi.  
  
Usagi backed away amazed at what had happened. She was now clad in a leather fuku with pink ribbons tied in bows around her upper arms and a pink ribbon choker around her neck. Kakyuu smiled at her and stepped closer to her again. "Sailor Star Lover, you are welcome here on Kinmoku." Lover bowed and thanked Kakyuu once again for everything she had done for her. Kakyuu couldn't help but take in the sight of the new Starlight in front of her. She truly was beautiful in everyway, and now she was all hers. "Come, I shall show you to your room."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Fighter laid around lazily as she usually did when they were technically off duty. "What do we need with another senshi?" She heard Healer say as her and Maker approached. Fighter didn't intend on getting up, and continued to sprawl out in her current position on the bed.  
  
"Her star feels very bright, and almost familiar." Maker thought aloud.  
  
Healer's voice was louder as they had entered the room now. "But that still doesn't explain why we need a new Starlight!" She retorted getting impatient with Maker's diversion of her question.  
  
"A new Starlight?" Fighter asked from the bed still not rising.  
  
Maker came over and sat beside the relaxed girl. "Yes, we have a new Starlight, and it seems that Kakyuu has taken a special interest in her."  
  
"Special interest?" Fighter questioned now turning her head to look in Maker's direction.  
  
"That's right, `special interest'." Healer answered. "You'd better look out Fighter, no matter how qualified you are to be leader, Kakyuu could just as easily replace you with her bed mate."  
  
"Healer!" Maker snapped signaling that she had gone too far.  
  
"Gomen, but it's true."  
  
Fighter sat up. "Kakyuu has taken a new senshi as a lover?"  
  
"No, we can't say that, but that's just the impression that Healer got from the Princess when she spoke of her." Maker rolled her eyes a bit.  
  
"Impression? Ha! I felt it, Kakyuu's thoughts for this new Starlight are definitely impure!" Healer's comments were cut short by a sound at the door. All three Starlights stood up to present themselves.  
  
Kakyuu opened the door and entered the room followed by a blond Starlight. "My Starlights, I would like to introduce you to Sailor Star Lover. She will be the newest member of our senshi."  
  
Fighter, Healer and Maker all bowed a little reluctantly, they didn't want to take their eyes off of this new girl who seemed to be smiling in a strange sort of way at them. She had extremely long blond hair tied back in a low ponytail, brilliant blue eyes that showed all the shine of her star seed and was dressed in the usual Starlight uniform. Fighter being the leader stepped forward after her bow. "I am Fighter." She said while shaking her hand firmly.  
  
Lover's eyes seemed to hold a certain quality that she couldn't place right at the moment. There was something special about this girl. There was something there, something being hidden and she felt drawn to it, very drawn to it. Lover spoke bringing Fighter out of her trans. "Nice to meet you."  
  
Maker and Healer approached and did the same, neither of them quite noticing the same quality that Fighter had, but both of them were preoccupied with the notion that this could be the Princess' new lover. The name certainly fit.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lover's heart swelled when she flopped back on her bed. Kakyuu and the guards had left her alone in what was now to be her room. The décor was pink and quite lavish for a mere senshi. Even though these splendors surrounded her she was still wishing for the one thing that wasn't there. Seeing Fighter again was like a breath of fresh air. So what if she didn't know who she was, it was a chance for them to start over again.  
  
Lover was giddy and couldn't wait to fall asleep so that she could wake up and see Fighter again. She had been perfect, just the way she remembered her from all of those years ago. The long jet-black ponytail, seemingly even longer legs that were shaped and formed just right for her and they lead up to that gorgeous body of hers. Lover fought the tremendous urge to run across the room and hug her the moment she saw her. It was going to be hard to fight those feelings off, but to be near Fighter, she would endure anything.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What was that?" Healer questioned Fighter when they were alone with Maker.  
  
"What was what?" Fighter asked not really caring for a response.  
  
Healer looked to Maker to see if she was alone in her thinking. Maker made no attempt to show her thoughts. "That could possibly be the stupidest thing you could ever do!" She started to lecture Fighter. "And you've done some pretty stupid things!"  
  
"Nani?" Fighter asked and also looked to Maker. Once again Maker refused to show her emotions about the subject, but she knew exactly what Healer was referring to.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me. I saw the way you looked at her!" Healer took Fighter by the shoulders. "Don't do this."  
  
"At least it's better to have a fantasy about some one who is here that she can never have, rather than some one who is half way across the galaxy that she can never have." Maker chuckled a bit at her own comment.  
  
"Shut up!" Fighter turned and gave Maker the death stare. "What do you know!?"  
  
"Nothing I guess." And with that Maker turned and left for her own room, she didn't have time to explain an analysis of Fighter's problems to her.  
  
"Are you saying you've given up the thought that Usagi could be your only love?" Yaten asked being a bit more gentle and sitting down beside her friend.  
  
Fighter looked her in the eyes. "Now why would I do that?" She laughed a bit at her own pathetic statement. "She felt just like her..."  
  
"Oh no!" Healer fell back on the bed. "Not only are you still in love with some one who doesn't return your feelings, but now you're being attracted to some one else because they remind you of that person. To make matters worse, this new attraction seems to be the apple of our Princess's eye!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Morning came and Lover awoke to find that she was early. She quickly got out of bed and raced out into the halls, only briefly being in the palace didn't give her enough sense of where everything was, but she knew where Fighter's room had been. Her boots clicked loudly on the marble floor as she neared the end of the hall where she knew Fighter's room to be, suddenly the door opened in front of her but she was going to fast to slow down.  
  
On her butt!  
  
"Gomen ne!" Fighter said as she realized that she had knocked some one over. Another look down would show her that she had knocked over her new comrade. "Are you alright?"  
  
Lover sat up and held her head. "Oh god, I think so!" She said but then looked up to see Fighter looking down at her concerned. She displayed a weird sort of smirk and accepted Fighter's gloved hand to help her up. She was a bit shorter than the raven-haired senshi and looked to be the shortest of the Starlights. "Arigato."  
  
Fighter caught herself staring at the blond and she couldn't help but wonder why she had been smiling at her that way. A cough from behind her brought her back to reality as Healer made her presence known. "Maker is already out on the field."  
  
"Good morning Healer." Lover said with a smile and a wave. Healer didn't say anything, she didn't exactly care for this new senshi, and she didn't exactly trust her. There was more to her than meets the eye.  
  
"Don't bother." Fighter answered. "She's not exactly a morning person." Healer mumbled something under her breath and walked away.  
  
Lover just laughed and began to follow her. Fighter didn't move immediately and instead just watched Lover go. Her laugh had been captivating and she was being sucked into her aura even more. "So mysterious."  
  
"Fighter!" Healer called from down the hall standing next to Lover. "The Princess will be watching today, so I suggest that you wake up and not be late!" In a second Fighter was by their sides and ready to go.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"My lady, why are we watching the Starlights train today?" Zankou asked as he looked up at his princess. Zankou was Kakyuu's right hand man and advisor.  
  
Kakyuu smiled as she saw the Starlights approaching the field. "Can you keep a secret?"  
  
"You know I can." He smiled.  
  
"Do you see our new senshi out there? Sailor Star Lover?" She questioned pointing in the process.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"That is Sailor Moon."  
  
Zankou looked shocked but then smirked a bit. "So you're saying that Lover is Usagi Tsukino, Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, to be Neo-Queen Serenity and the object of your desire?"  
  
Kakyuu smiled at his statement, she had previously told him about her thoughts towards the moon princess. "Fate just has a funny way of playing its hand doesn't it?"  
  
"If you mean by the fact that the one girl, unobtainable to you has come and pledged her loyalty to you and presented herself as an underling that you have complete control over, than yes, it does." They both smiled and saw the senshi form a square.  
  
"Healer and I will practice today, and you and Lover can go at it over there." Maker pointed to an area not too far away.  
  
Lover blushed a bit at the comment letting her perverse mind get the better of her. `go at it...' She giggled a little bit and then noticed Fighter staring at her. "Nani?"  
  
"Are you laughing because you think you can beat me?" Fighter asked as they walked to their designated area. "Let me tell you now, I will remain leader of the Starlights... no matter what you do behind close doors." It was almost as though her words were laced with venom.  
  
`What was she talking about?' Lover stopped as they reached their destination. "I'm not trying to take your position, and I don't presume to believe that I can beat you."  
  
Fighter was a little thrown off by this, that wasn't what she had expected to hear. "Well good." She walked away and stood about 100 meters away from Lover. "Let's see what you've got."  
  
"Nani?" Lover called. She didn't want to attack or fight Fighter, she actually didn't even know if she could. She had no time to think more about it though until Fighter's attack was soaring towards her.  
  
STAR SERIOUS LASER!!  
  
Lover had to think quickly and counter the attack somehow without hurting Fighter.  
  
STAR SENTIMENTAL KISS!!  
  
The two attacks collided and drew the attention of Healer and Maker in the process while Kakyuu just looked on with a broad smile on her face. It appeared that the two were equal in power, if anything, Lover was ahead, but not by much. Fighter became disgusted that the new Starlight didn't go down as easily as she had anticipated and began to charge in her direction.  
  
"It's amusing to see Fighter trying so desperately to attack the one person she truly loves." Zankou smiled with enjoyment. The comment was true and Kakyuu felt a little bad for what she was doing to her Starlight. She wanted Usagi for herself, and perhaps this way she could drive the two apart.  
  
Fighter was almost upon Lover and it didn't look as though Lover was moving out of the way of the on coming attack. "Why do I have to fight you?" She asked as Fighter came down upon her.  
  
"Nani?" Fighter asked as she huffed trying to catch her breath. Fighter had the blond Starlight pinned to the ground straddling her and holding both of her arms at bay.  
  
Lover smiled up at Fighter and didn't struggle to free herself. "I believe that nothing is gained by fighting." She watched as the completely puzzled look spread across Fighter's face and smiled because she knew she must have been thinking of Sailor Moon.  
  
Fighter watched the peculiar smile appear on Lover's face again and found herself staring once again into her blue eyes. They were just like hers... "Well done, but perhaps you need more training my little Starlight." Kakyuu said walking up next to the two on the ground. She didn't like the position Fighter had gotten them into and was quick to put an end to it.  
  
Fighter removed herself from the pink-ribboned Starlight and stood to brush herself off. "I will train her." She offered and helped Lover up from the ground.  
  
"Nani?" Kakyuu asked, and thought quickly for a cover. "I believe you have more important duties to attend to, I will leave Lover's training to Healer."  
  
"NANI?!" Healer screeched coming up to the conversation.  
  
Maker laughed a bit behind her. "It seems that jealousy is already starting to rear its ugly head, ne?" Maker whispered to Healer low enough so that Kakyuu, Fighter and Lover would not hear.  
  
Healer smirked at the comment and looked from Kakyuu to Fighter. "I will train Lover, if that is what you wish Princess." 


	2. Red is the color of passion.

Yup, you guessed it! Me again! Thank you all for the great reviews! Here's chapter two! Gomen, but I'm going to have to disappoint you... no NC-17 rating yet, but oh, yeah, it's coming! ^_~  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
section 2 (Red is the color of passion)  
  
"I'll train her Princess." Healer batted her eyes and mocked a sugary sweet voice as she followed Fighter down the hall.  
  
"Shut up Healer, I'm warning you." Fighter growled from in front of her.  
  
"Oh Lover, I'm sorry, did I just happen to pin you down in this seductive manner?" Healer's teasing continued.  
  
"Shut up..."  
  
"Oh, Lover, you remind me so much of my Odango... I guess you'll have to do." Healer knew immediately that she had gone too far, but her realization came too late for Fighter's hand was already wrapped around her throat.  
  
"Don't ever talk about her that way again." Fighter's eyes were blazing with pure fury. The anger that was being built up by Healer's teasing was just the tip of the emotions that fueled her strength. "No one could ever replace her..." Her grip loosened and Healer fell to the floor holding her neck.  
  
"I was only joking." She said as she rubbed her sore neck.  
  
"Joking about what?" Lover said as she came up to the two, as she looked to Fighter she saw the raw fury displayed in her face and body and knew that the two had just had a falling out.  
  
Fighter said nothing and just turned away walking down the hall to her room and slamming the door. "So touchy." Healer groaned as she stood up. "Are you ready for your training?"  
  
Lover's eyes had followed Fighter's form down the hall and now turned to Healer to nod. The two walked down the hall towards the gym that they would be training in today. "What was that all about?" Lover asked still curious as to what had gone on just before she arrived.  
  
"It's a long story."  
  
"We're going to be here a while, it looks like we have time." Lover mused as she smiled at Healer.  
  
"It's really nothing, I just struck a nerve with Fighter, I should have known better, that's all." Healer said as she laid down the thick blue mats.  
  
"Oh." Lover asked as she began to assist Healer. "Are we wrestling today?"  
  
"Nani?" Healer looked up at her. "No, we're going to practice throws today."  
  
"Oh." Lover once again answered as she finished up what she was doing. "Does she have a temper?"  
  
"Who?" Healer wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, she really didn't care much for this girl, and didn't find her that fascinating.  
  
"Fighter."  
  
Healer walked over next to Lover who was standing with her hands at her side, eyeing her carefully. "Here's a word of advice, just stay away from Fighter and you'll be better off."  
  
"Nani? Why?" Lover was confused, why should she stay away from Fighter? She knew she wasn't a bad person, besides, she had come all this way to see her, and she certainly wasn't just going to stay away from her.  
  
"Just consider yourself fortunate enough not to know the answer to that question." Healer said and before Lover could ask any more questions she found herself flying towards the mat. "Ha, and Maker thought you were going to be strong."  
  
Lover got up and rubbed her bottom a bit. "Why you..." She cursed the fact that she had let Healer catch her off guard, she wasn't going to come across as weak so she charged the silver haired light. Healer began to laugh and side stepped the on coming attack with ease.  
  
By the end of the session the two were tired, well more so Lover than Healer, but they were both tired. Tired and laughing? "You certainly gave me a run for my money there!" Lover panted and wiped some sweat from her brow.  
  
Healer smiled back. "Arigato, I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
"Healer laughing, and saying thank you?" A voice came up behind the two of them and Healer's face immediately straightened out, while Lover's still held the goofy grin. "Did you two have a good time today?"  
  
"Yes Kakyuu." Lover beamed. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash up for dinner." She said as she looked from Kakyuu to Healer.  
  
Once Lover was out of hearing range Healer began to speak. "You know, Fighter would be much better at training a new senshi than I would." She smiled inwardly, the statement was true but she had only spoken those words to see Kakyuu's reaction.  
  
"Oh?" She just said with a smile and followed Lover in the direction she had disappeared in.  
  
"Bum, bum, bum... and the drama begins." Healer smiled.  
  
"Yes it does." Maker came up from behind her. "Gomen, but I heard the entire conversation. I don't know what Kakyuu's worried about, I mean she is a princess, why would she fear Fighter as competition?"  
  
"I don't know, but I do know that there is more to our little Lover than she lets on." Healer watched Kakyuu disappear into Lover's room and Maker nodded in agreement.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The long elegant dinner table was set with six place settings. Kakyuu was to be seated at the head of the table as always and on her right was Zankou, but to her left was a new person. In Fighter's usual seat now sat Lover. Healer snickered at the look on Fighter's face when she entered the room to see her seat taken, she was to sit beside Lover since it was the only open seat left.  
  
"How did your training go today?" Fighter didn't know what to think of this new senshi, she wanted to despise her for coming up on her position but there was just something about her that continued to draw her in, so she felt the need to be civil.  
  
Lover smiled over at Fighter. "Great! Healer is a really good teacher." Lover noticed the sideways glance that Fighter shot Healer and couldn't help wondering just what she was missing.  
  
"That's great." Kakyuu commented. "It's nice to see you two getting along. Tomorrow you are going to train with Maker and after that I have a special surprise for you." She winked just before her soup was set down in front of her.  
  
"Sounds lovely." Lover smiled. Perhaps her surprise had something to do with getting to see Fighter, she couldn't help the thought and a goofy grin made its way to her face. Healer noticed and chuckled some more.  
  
"So Lover, where exactly are you from?" Fighter asked with a certain smirk.  
  
"Umm... uh..." Lover stumbled on her words, she couldn't come out and tell her that she was from Earth, that would just be too weird.  
  
"Fighter, you know that you are not allowed to ask that of her." Kakyuu narrowed her eyes at the raven haired Starlight. "Lover, none of the Starlights know each other's origins, so please don't explain yours." Kakyuu added still glaring at Fighter.  
  
Maker felt a kick at her leg and looked over to see Healer grinning, Maker let out a faint giggled. "Nani?" Lover asked of the tallest Starlight.  
  
"Nothing, it is an inside joke." Healer covered for her.  
  
"Oh." Lover said but then noticed the glare shot in Healer's direction from Fighter. She definitely wanted to know what was going on. "What are we doing after dinner?" Lover anxiously questioned Kakyuu while shoving food in her face faster than anyone you'd ever seen before, this also caught Fighter's eye.  
  
"The Princess has a meeting with the neighboring Star. You will have to find something else to fill your time." Zankou answered for her. "That reminds me, Princess, you'd better hurry. You don't want to be late do you?" Kakyuu nodded and rose from her seat.  
  
"I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight." She said setting her napkin that once adorned her lap down on the table in front of her.  
  
The four Starlights rose to respect her exit but only Lover sat back down. "What? You guys are leaving behind all of this yummy food!" She said as she shoved the last biscuit into her mouth.  
  
"Kind of reminds you of some one, doesn't it Healer?" Maker questioned Healer but looked directly at Fighter. Healer didn't dare respond to the comment for fear of Fighter's reaction. Lover looked up from her task.  
  
"So what do you want to do tonight?" Healer asked Lover as the four of them strode down the corridor.  
  
"I don't know, I haven't really seen the whole palace yet. I wouldn't mind a tour. I mean, if I'm going to be living here and all it might be nice if I knew where I was going!" She winked and smiled. There was a certain warmth in her smile, unmistakable.  
  
"Well, Fighter knows the palace the best, I'm sure she'll show you around." Maker commented and then noticed the death glare she received from Healer. "Healer and I have other matters to attend to."  
  
"But I thought..." Lover started but realized that the two had already walked away leaving her behind with Fighter, not that she minded in the least.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that." Healer commented when they were down the hall.  
  
"And why not?" Maker said with a smile.  
  
Healer shook her head. "You're such an antagonist, you know that? Why couldn't you just leave the situation alone?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about." Maker continued to smile. "I think it will be good for her."  
  
"Who? Lover or Fighter?"  
  
"Fighter of course."  
  
"I think you're wrong, and I have a bad feeling about this." Healer stopped in front of her door.  
  
"Well it looks like it's just you and me." Lover turned and smiled at Fighter.  
  
Fighter, despite trying not to, smiled in return. Smiles just came so easily in this girl's presence, just like... No! Don't think that way. "Yeah, I guess so." Fighter said walking away.  
  
"You don't like me very much do you?" Lover said walking behind Fighter with her hands behind her back.  
  
"What would give you that idea?" Fighter looked back with a cocked eyebrow.  
  
Lover came up to walk beside Fighter. "The way you look at me some times. I get the feeling that you feel threatened by me. Is that it?"  
  
"I think you flatter yourself too much." Fighter said with a slight laugh.  
  
"That's an odd statement coming from you!" Lover mumbled to herself remembering Fighter's previous attitude on Earth.  
  
"What did you say?" Fighter stopped walking.  
  
"Nothing." Lover looked innocently. "I just want us to get along that's all." They continued to walk, Lover was thinking too hard. Why was Fighter in such a bad mood all of the time? She seemed touchy, jumpy and hard to reach, not at all the way she remembered her. "Can I ask you a question?"  
  
Fighter continued to walk, by now they were in the garden. She hadn't even meant to lead her here, it was just where her feet took her when she needed to think, usually about her. Fighter looked up into the night sky not answering Lover's question but staring contently at the sparkling stars.  
  
Lover looked up to see the sight that captivated her dark haired companion so. The stars really were shining brilliantly. "What is going on between you and Healer?"  
  
"Nani?" Fighter's head snapped down suddenly.  
  
"I sense such animosity sometimes between the two of you. Like the today when I came into your conversation before training. What were you talking about that got you so mad?" Lover searched Fighter's face for any sensible answer, but found none.  
  
"It's nothing."  
  
"It's something, otherwise you wouldn't have tried to strangle your partner!" Lover looked up and realized that she was a new person to Fighter all over again. She didn't have the trust that she had once given to Usagi.  
  
"By `it's nothing', I meant that it's none of your business." Fighter snapped at her, but immediately regretted it when she saw the look displayed on the smaller girl's face. That pout was so similar.  
  
"It's alright."  
  
"No, it's not, I shouldn't have snapped at you. Gomen." She apologized and returned her gaze to the stars above and noticed Kakyuu on her balcony staring down at them. "We'd better get back it's late." Fighter said turning away and heading back into the palace.  
  
Lover was confused but followed. "Can I come back to your room and talk with you some more?" She asked as she tried to catch up with Fighter's hurried pace.  
  
"I don't think that would be such a good idea." Fighter answered, but felt the longing to actually sit down and spend time with this girl, her Princess' love.  
  
Lover was disappointed but saw that Fighter was firm in her answer. Had she come all of this way and in the end she couldn't spend time with the one person who still meant something to her? It looked like it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Earth seemed like a distant dream to her now. Lover often found herself thinking of what the other senshi were doing and if they even noticed her gone at all. Probably not, was the conclusion she came to. It was almost time for her training with Maker. Why couldn't she just train with Fighter? That way they could spend time together while she was doing something that she was supposed to do any way.  
  
"Are you ready?" Maker asked coming up behind her as she stared out the window.  
  
Lover quickly turned around and came out of her thoughts. "Yes, where are we headed today?"  
  
"The second gym." Maker smiled and pointed her in the right direction. As they were walking away Maker glanced out the window that Lover had been staring out, there in the walkway below she saw Fighter pulling up her gloves and straightening her hair as though no one was watching her. Maker looked from the window to see Lover walking away in the direction that she had pointed her in.  
  
"We should practice throws!" Lover smiled as Maker came into the gym with her.  
  
"Why exactly is that?" Maker questioned seeing no logical reason in why she would pull that out.  
  
"Because, I trained on them yesterday and I think I got pretty damn good!" Lover shot her a victory sign and noticed the strange look on Maker's face.  
  
Two fingers raised in a victory sign wasn't a usual gesture on Kinmoku, Maker had only seen it on Earth. This made her wonder just where exactly this new Starlight was from. "I don't think that is a very good reason and I think we'll stick to the exercise that I already had planned."  
  
Lover sighed. "Oh alright, party-pooper." She slumped by her taller companion.  
  
Maker let out a slight laugh, there was something about this girl that just made her relax, almost as if they had known each other for a long time. "We're going to work on your speed and agility." Lover sat there and stared. "Is there something wrong?" Maker asked noticing her apparent staring problem.  
  
"No, nothing, that just didn't seem to be your department that's all." She commented nonchalantly.  
  
"Are you trying to say that I'm slow?" Maker asked slightly offended.  
  
"No, not at all." Lover defended herself once she saw how Maker had taken the comment. "I was just thinking that you were more of the intellectual type, I thought we would do something along those lines."  
  
Maker smiled. "You're pretty observant."  
  
Lover's mood lifted with the comment. "Arigato!"  
  
"Come on, we'd better get to training. We don't want Kakyuu to get the wrong idea now do we?" Maker noted Lover's puzzled expression due to this statement.  
  
"Whatever." She shrugged and lined up to do wind sprints. Time went by and neither of them said anything except Maker's occasional instruction.  
  
Their training time was just about over when Lover broke the silence. "Ahhh! I can't take it any more! My legs are turning into Jell-O!"  
  
Maker laughed at her pupil's outburst and decided to call it a day. They walked down the hall towards their room together. "Why don't you just ask me?" Maker stated looking straight ahead.  
  
"Excuse me?" Lover looked up at her.  
  
Maker still didn't turn her head to address her fellow senshi. "You want to ask me a question, I can tell, it's been on your face all night."  
  
Lover smiled. "Now who's the observant one?" She mused with a slight laugh. "I was actually going to ask you about Healer and Fighter."  
  
"Oh, and what about them?" Maker was curious as to what this new girl could be wondering concerning her two friends.  
  
"They seem to be at each other's throats, and every time I ask one of them about it they tell me its nothing important, or that they're sure I'd rather not know." Lover's head was down and she didn't see Kakyuu approach.  
  
"How was your training today my chibi-starlight?" She asked picking up Lover's chin with her index finger.  
  
Maker watched a smile form on Lover's face. "It was great."  
  
"I'm happy to hear that." Kakyuu answered. "Well you get a break tomorrow."  
  
"Really?" Lover was a bit disappointed that Kakyuu didn't say she would be training with Fighter tomorrow but was relieved to get a break.  
  
"Yes, but I was wondering if you would like to come and spend some time with me?" Kakyuu's question seemed innocent enough.  
  
It didn't look as though Fighter was going to want to spend time with her any time soon so Lover agreed. "That would be nice."  
  
"I will see you both tomorrow, I'm sorry that I could not give you your surprise today, I will be sure to get around to it tomorrow. Lover, Maker, if you'll excuse me, I will not be joining you for dinner, I have diplomatic guests. Ja."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Fighter, Healer and Maker sat around doing nothing in particular. Dinner had been quiet and they had left Lover by herself in her room. She had asked them what they were doing but they all responded that they were busy. They didn't know if she had seen through their lie, but then again they didn't really care.  
  
Fighter was beside the window gazing out at the nighttime stars. Healer and Maker were across the room having a private conversation. "I think our new little Starlight has a thing for Fighter." Maker commented looking in Fighter's direction to see if she was listening. She wasn't, she was oblivious to the fact that they were even there.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Healer asked, she hadn't seen any evidence of that.  
  
"She asks about her quite often, if you haven't noticed, and today I caught her staring longingly at our dear Fighter when no one else was around." Maker said this in a hushed voice just in case Fighter could hear them.  
  
Healer's eyes grew a little as she looked at Maker in amazement. "Do you really think so?" She only half expected an answer. "Doesn't she remind you of some one though? I'm saying this seriously now, not just to ruffle Fighter's feathers."  
  
Maker nodded in agreement. "She could be her long lost twin if I didn't believe that idea was so obscure."  
  
Healer laughed a bit at the comment. It was a little far fetched, but it would have been a good explanation. "I think we should put them together and find out just what Lover's intentions are towards Fighter. Who knows, maybe Fighter will see what we see and find that love she's been looking for."  
  
"I don't see that happening, but I would like to see what Lover has up her sleeve." Maker stood. "This could end up `not-so-pretty' don't you think?"  
  
"Yeah, but it's getting boring around this place isn't it?" Healer smiled.  
  
"Healer!" Maker snapped at her and drew Fighter's attention in the process. "That was uncalled for." Healer just shrugged and rolled her eyes.  
  
"What are you two talking about?" Fighter got up and walked over towards them.  
  
Healer and Maker looked at each other for a moment. "Nothing." Maker said and stood up. "It was nothing of importance."  
  
"And just where are you going?" Healer asked her with a smirk.  
  
Maker was to the door by now. "I don't want anything to do with your half-baked ideas." And she was gone.  
  
"What was that all about?" Fighter asked coming over to take Maker's previous seat.  
  
A devilish idea popped into Healer's head as she looked at Fighter with a smile. "We were just saying how we felt bad ditching Lover like that."  
  
"Yeah, I guess that was pretty rude and all." Fighter agreed.  
  
"Why don't you go and see her?" Healer put the idea on the table, she couldn't force Fighter to go, but she could definitely try and persuade her.  
  
Fighter looked over at Healer as though she had grown two heads. "Why don't you go and see her?" She questioned back not seeing why she should have to go alone. "Besides, you know her better than I do."  
  
"I have to wash my hair and get some beauty sleep. Some of us actually care about our appearance." Healer said throwing her hair back over her shoulder and walking to the end of the room.  
  
Fighter just grunted and stared on. Why did she want her to go and see this new Starlight? She knew Healer had some crazy notion in her head, the way Maker had acted earlier only confirmed it. Fighter decided that she would play along with this little game. "Fine, maybe I will go and see her."  
  
Healer smiled and walked out of the room, but not more than a second later her head poked back in. "Be sure and not let the Princess catch you!" She said with a full tooth grin. Fighter knew very well to what she was referring to and got up to head on her way.  
  
"They hate me." Lover sighed and put her head down on her folded arms. She lay out on her bed on her stomach feeling the night air come in through the window to blow across her skin. A knock at the door sounded and Lover assumed that it was Kakyuu. "Come in." She called not bothering to move from her current position.  
  
Fighter entered the room and noticed the blond girl on the bed, she felt bad that they had made her sad by not hanging out with her. "Were you going to sleep?" She asked not venturing too far into the room just in case she was.  
  
Lover's head shot up from its resting place and stared at the new person in the room. It was Fighter not Kakyuu and a smile immediately found its way to her face. "No, I wasn't sleeping, come in." She motioned for the black haired girl to make herself comfortable.  
  
"Achk, I think I would puke if they put this much pink in my room." Fighter commented looking around, pretty much checking to see if Kakyuu had spoiled this Starlight more than the others. She hadn't. Lover laughed and just stared at Fighter. Fighter felt her eyes on her but pretended that she didn't notice still looking around the room.  
  
"Can you see anything?" Maker asked as Healer stood on her shoulders.  
  
"Would you hold still?!" Healer cursed down. They were spying into Lover's room, they knew Fighter wouldn't tell them anything of what happened so they were going to have to find out for themselves. "They are just sitting on the bed together. I can't hear anything though. Damn!"  
  
"I was surprised to see that your room was decorated in blue, you seem like more of a red person to me." Lover commented moving slightly closer to Fighter.  
  
"Lover is moving closer to Fighter, and she has her gloves and boots off." Healer was trying her best to give Maker the play by play of what was going on.  
  
"Now, why would you see me as a red person?" It was true that her favorite color was red, but why would that be brought up?  
  
Lover moved even closer, she was on her knees beside Fighter on the bed and her face was only inches from hers. "Red is the color of passion, and you come across as a very passionate person." Lover brushed some hairs behind Fighter's ear as she spoke into it.  
  
"What's going on!" Maker wasn't happy about being the human pillar.  
  
"Uh..." Healer stared a little surprised that Lover was actually sort of making a move on Fighter. "Lover is whispering in her ear and playing with her hair. She's nearly on top of her!"  
  
"WHAT!" Maker said surprised and almost dropped Healer in the process.  
  
Fighter sat still and didn't look over at the girl beside her. She did remind her in so many ways of her Odango. She let out a laugh. "What would you know about the subject anyway?"  
  
Lover became a little discouraged that she had been brushed off so easily, but wasn't going to give up. "I may not know much about it now but I would love to find out." And before Fighter knew what had hit her Lover had captured her lips in a passionate kiss.  
  
Healer gasped. "Lover kissed her!"  
  
Fighter quickly broke away from their kiss and pushed the blond away. "What are you doing?" She asked.  
  
Maker was becoming excited below. "Now what happened? You're not a very good caster you know."  
  
"Fighter pushed her away."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Lover looked confused as she studied Fighter's face. "I don't know." She answered slowly. "I guess I just felt like doing that."  
  
"Well don't just feel like doing that again." Fighter answered her tone somewhat harsh.  
  
"It looks as though Fighter is yelling at Lover."  
  
Lover was downhearted and felt like she was dying. She wasn't even going to let her near her. "Is there already some one else?" She asked afraid of the answer.  
  
Fighter's body relaxed a bit and a small smile appeared on her face. "Yes, there is some one else."  
  
"Do you love them?"  
  
"I love her more than anything else in this world, but I can't be with her." Fighter looked up at the ceiling in sweet remembrance of her Odango.  
  
"Why not?" Lover asked. She didn't know who Fighter was referring to, but she wanted to see if there was ever going to be a chance for her to fill that void.  
  
"There are too many details, it just wasn't meant to be." Fighter's face became sad.  
  
"What are you two doing out here?" Kakyuu's voice came up behind Healer and Maker as she caught them peeping into Lover's window.  
  
Maker turned around so suddenly that Healer was knocked off from her shoulders into the bush nearby. "We were just checking out the structure of this wall, yeah, that's it." Maker tried quickly to come up with a feasible excuse.  
  
"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Kakyuu said putting her hands on her hips.  
  
By now Healer had gotten up and brushed herself off. "Fighter is in Lover's room." She said holding her head a bit and then punched Maker in the arm for dropping her. Without a word Kakyuu spun around and headed into the palace. "Uh oh, looks like some one wasn't too happy." Healer commented.  
  
"Fighter better get her butt out of there now!"  
  
"Are you going to go and tell her?" Healer asked knowing full well that she wasn't going anywhere near that problem.  
  
"Not a chance in hell!" Maker said walking towards the palace.  
  
Lover put her hand on Fighter's gloved one. "Do you think you'll ever forget about her?"  
  
Fighter brought her head down and looked at Lover for the first time. "I could never forget about her, and I will always love her and only her."  
  
"Oh Fighter, I didn't realize you were in here." Kakyuu commented walking in wearing only her robe. Fighter immediately jumped up somewhat scared half out of her wits.  
  
"We were just talking." Lover commented with a smile and Fighter shot her an odd look.  
  
Kakyuu had seen the position they were in when she walked in and didn't like it. "I was actually just leaving Princess." Fighter said walking past the red haired girl. "Goodnight."  
  
"So how did it go?" Kakyuu walked over and sat down next to Lover.  
  
Lover sighed. "Can't I get out of this fuku?" She asked as she tugged at the straps.  
  
"You can detransform, but you can't let the Starlights see you." Kakyuu warned.  
  
In a second Usagi replaced Lover and fell back on her bed. "That is so much better. Who knew leather was so restrictive?"  
  
Kakyuu laughed and sat behind Usagi when she sat back up. She began taking her hair down and reached for a brush. "It wasn't what you expected it to be was it?" She said while stroking her hair.  
  
Usagi looked down into her hands. "No, it wasn't." She sighed taking in the new weight on her heart. Why hadn't she suspected this? Why was she so naïve to think that Fighter wouldn't have found some one new? "I didn't know that she already loved some one."  
  
"Oh, and how did that come up?" Kakyuu paused with her task for a moment. "Don't tell me you confessed your feelings to her already."  
  
"Not really, but I did kiss her and she just pushed me away and told me to never do that again... I guess you were right, she might have just pretended to have liked me if I came here as myself." Usagi was almost on the verge of tears and she couldn't see Kakyuu smiling blissfully behind her.  
  
"I'll stay in here with you tonight, we can have some girl talk." Kakyuu said finishing up with her long blond hair.  
  
Usagi turned around with a smile on her face. "That would be great." 


	3. Kakyuu's Subtle Seduction

Towards the end of this chapter may be some material that isn't suitable for immature readers, but that never stopped them before! ^_~ Consider this your fair warning.  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
(Kakyuu's Subtle Seduction)  
  
Fighter didn't get to walk too far down the hall before she ran into Healer and Maker. They both walked up to her with beaming smiles on their faces. "Did the Princess find you?" Maker asked.  
  
"Yes, she was looking for Lover though." Fighter said not giving into her apparent deeper question. "Healer you have a stick in your hair." Fighter said walking past the two and towards her room.  
  
"What? Where?" Healer franticly searched her hair for the alleged twig. "Hey, wait a minute!" The two followed Fighter into her room before she could close the door on them. "What happened?" Healer asked closing the door behind her.  
  
"Nothing." Said walking into her bathroom and closing the door.  
  
"Nothing my ass!" Healer said finding her self face to face with the door.  
  
Maker laughed behind her. "Why do you bother asking when you already know the answer?"  
  
"Well I didn't want her to know that we knew?" Healer became discouraged and stormed towards the hall.  
  
Maker shook her head as she followed. "Why do you think she told you that you had a stick in your hair?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She reminded her so much of Usagi that it was becoming hard to even look at her. With the stunt that she had pulled on her earlier she could only assume that things wouldn't be easy from here on in. Fighter leaned into the stream of the shower's spray. Images of Usagi's smiling face came back to her and caused her to smile. Even though she reminded her of Usagi, she knew she could never replace her, never.  
  
Fighter was still trying to figure out the whole mess with Lover. Why was she coming on to her when she was supposed to be with the Princess? Maybe she was setting Fighter up to have the Princess find out and end up releasing Fighter from her position and giving the lead of the Starlights to Lover. If that was the case Fighter was going to have to try a lot harder to fight her feelings and stick to her duties.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Usagi and Kakyuu had stayed up a good portion of the night talking to one another. Kakyuu asked many questions about Usagi's past and her life while Usagi mainly stuck to asking questions about Fighter.  
  
Kakyuu awoke to the warmth of another body beside her, she picked her head up to look at the sleeping angel beside her. Blond and red hair spilt out on the bed and Kakyuu brushed it aside. She gently pushed some stray hairs away from Usagi's face as she watched her continue to sleep.  
  
Nothing had happened between the two of them that night. Kakyuu knew that it was too soon, she hadn't fully given up hope on Fighter yet and would have simply pushed Kakyuu away. She put her head back down on the pillow but this time a little closer and slipped her arm over the blonde's still sleeping form.  
  
Usagi started to stir from all of the movement. She felt an arm around her, in her still sleepy daze and just coming from her dream world with Fighter, naturally Usagi assumed it was her and snuggled in closer. Kakyuu felt this and only pulled the girl closer to her. Wrapping a leg over Kakyuu's, Usagi tilted her head up to place small kisses on Kakyuu's neck.  
  
Kakyuu didn't know why Usagi was doing this but at the moment it didn't really matter. She ran her hands up the back of Usagi's night gown and back down again to come to a stop a the top of her panties. Usagi moaned softly and pushed herself closer to Kakyuu, wrapping her leg tighter.  
  
"Lover! It's time to get up!" Healer called just before she burst through the door. "Ah! I'm sorry!" She screamed and then ran out leaving the door still open.  
  
Usagi shot up and was immediately at full attention. When everything stopped and her thoughts finally caught up with her she looked over at Kakyuu and blushed. "Gomen ne." She said meekly.  
  
Kakyuu smiled back up to her and closed her robe. "I understand, but I'd better be going now." She stood up and made her way around the bed to Usagi's side. "I'll meet you later." She said rather close to her face and only made Usagi blush again.  
  
"Hai..." She said in a whisper. Once Kakyuu had left she figured she should take a shower. If she actually got to do something today other than train she didn't want to stink while doing it.  
  
"What happened?" Maker said rushing in through the still open door.  
  
"Nani?" Usagi asked just about to go into her bathroom.  
  
Maker took a quick look around the room and then set her eyes back on Usagi. "I saw Healer peel out of here screaming something. What happened?" She walked towards Usagi a bit.  
  
"Oh nothing, it was just a misunderstanding." Usagi smiled and suddenly became aware of her form. She wasn't supposed to let any of the Starlights see her like this.  
  
"Really?" Maker said looking at her in a peculiar way. "You seem different today, I can't quite put my finger on it though." Her eyes narrowed and her hand came up to her chin in contemplation.  
  
Usagi freaked out. "Well see ya!" She said very quickly as she rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door. "That was close." She sighed.  
  
Maker was now thoroughly confused. She hadn't expected that strange behavior and thought that she was hiding something. She had to find Healer and see what happened. Maker made her way back down the hall when she ran into Zankou leaving Healer's room. "Good morning." She bowed to show her respect.  
  
"Good morning." He smiled in reply and went on his way.  
  
Maker watched him go with a bit of a puzzled look on her face. It wasn't often that Zankou visited the senshi's quarters and when he did it was usually just to fetch them when they were late, this mainly meant Healer. Thinking no more of it Maker knocked on the closed door. "It's open." Healer's voice came from the other side, she didn't seem to be in a bad mood.  
  
"Healer, it's me." Maker said as she entered the room and found Healer's back to her while brushing her hair.  
  
"Yeah, what do you want?" The comment didn't seem to hold the same annoyance as it usually did, but there was still the hint.  
  
Maker made her way over to the seat Healer was in, there was no use shouting across the room. "I was just wondering what happened earlier. I saw you tear ass out of Lover's room screaming."  
  
A blush made its way to Healer's face as she paused momentarily from straightening her hair. She turned around to face Maker and Maker instantly knew that it was something stupid that Healer had done by accident. "I sorta walked in on Lover and Kakyuu this morning."  
  
A goofy grin spread across Maker's face as she tried hard not to laugh at Healer's misfortune. "You really have the worst luck don't you?" She couldn't help it any more, a full out laughter fit started.  
  
Healer's expression went from that of embarrassed to on the way pissed off. "Shut up!" She threw her brush at Maker who dodged it easily.  
  
"Gomen, gomen... but you see it's really quite amusing since you were spying on her last night and now that you got an eye full you're suddenly embarrassed about it." Maker calmed herself somewhat and waited patiently for the outburst she knew was about to come from Healer.  
  
Healer's face became downcast as she voiced her thoughts. "That's just it... I saw what Lover did to Fighter last night. What is she doing to our Princess?"  
  
Maker came to the same realization. "I don't know." She walked over to have a seat at the small table. "Do you think we should keep Lover away from Fighter?" Her head picked up to look over at Healer for her answer.  
  
The silver haired woman just shook her head. "What good could we do? It seems that Kakyuu is already trying to keep the two of them apart. Perhaps she knows about Lover's feelings for Fighter."  
  
"Perhaps, but none the less, you've seen the way Fighter spaces out sometimes when she looks at her. The Princess isn't going to be able to keep them both from seeing each other if they both want to. We just have to hope that Fighter keeps her distance." She saw Healer nod across the room and the mood seemed to lighten a little bit. "What were your plans for today?"  
  
"I'm going shopping of course!" Healer gave her the `duh' look.  
  
"Oh really, you didn't tell me we were going into town."  
  
"That's because WE'RE not. I'm going with Zankou." Healer smiled pleased with herself.  
  
"He isn't going to be assisting the Princess today?"  
  
"No, remember, the Princess has a `special' day planned with Lover. I'm assuming he would definitely get in the way of her plans." She snickered to herself as she could only imagine what Kakyuu had in store for Lover.  
  
"Well fine then! Go shopping with Zankou, see if I care!" Maker said and stormed off like a 13 year old girl. Healer just shook her head.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She was supposed to meet Kakyuu in the main corridor in about two seconds. Lover was running late, as if anyone expected anything else from her. She was running around franticly making sure everything was set before she left her room. She ran out and heard a hard thud against her door. She had opened it right in front of some one. "Gomen ne..." She said as she peered around the door to see just who she had hit. "Oh, it's you! I guess I owed you one anyway, ne?"  
  
Fighter sat on the ground rubbing her head. "I guess." She mumbled not too happy about the lump that was beginning to form on her head. "What's the rush anyway?"  
  
"I'm meeting Kakyuu for the day."  
  
"You're a piece of work you know that?" Fighter said getting up to her feet and laughing a bit in the process.  
  
Lover was once again confused. "Nani? Why do you say that?"  
  
"Oh nothing, it's just a surprise to me after what you said to me last night and then going off with Kakyuu today." The raven-haired girl shot her a lopsided grin in almost a flirtatious nature.  
  
Lover paused before saying anything, remembering that smile exactly, the signature sexy smile. Coming out of her daze she realized that her statement might have been less than flattering. "What exactly are you implying by that?" She asked with her hands on her hip and a determined look on her face. "Are you jealous?" She asked mischievously.  
  
"Hardly." Fighter huffed with a bit of a laugh. "I was simply saying that you're presenting your self as a..."  
  
"Fighter!" Maker called coming up behind the two. "I've been looking everywhere for you."  
  
Fighter's statement was cut off for now, and it seemed as though Lover hadn't gotten her point at all. Was this girl really this dense? Wait, you know some one else who came across as dense and didn't always get your meaning... but why did you call her naïve and not dense? Fighter pushed her inner voice to the back of her head and looked from Lover to Maker. "What were you looking for me for?"  
  
The tall senshi stopped being at a loss for words. "I... umm... I... wanted to know what you were doing today." She smiled proud of herself. She really hadn't been looking for Fighter, but she saw Fighter and Lover together and thought it was her place to come between them.  
  
"If you two will excuse me, I'm late." Lover said as she smiled and started running down the hall.  
  
"Will she ever be on time?" Maker asked as she watched her run awkwardly.  
  
"Doubt it." Fighter said with a smile as another thought of her Odango popped into her head. Maker looked over at Fighter to see her smiling after the blond that had just left. Oh no, don't tell me Fighter is falling for her. "So what did you want to do today?" Fighter asked coming out of her daze.  
  
"Nani?" Maker asked forgetting completely that she had just asked this of Fighter.  
  
"You asked what I was doing today as though you wanted to do something."  
  
"Oh never mind, I'm going to the library." She said and walked off leaving Fighter sweat dropping in the process.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The two women sat at a booth in a small café. "Does it look familiar?" Kakyuu asked from the other side of the table.  
  
Lover looked around amazed. "It's exactly the same!" She exclaimed and proceeded to slurp on her chocolate milkshake.  
  
"When the Starlights came back from Earth, Healer complained about how we didn't have a place like this here on Kinmoku. So Maker, taking it upon herself, created this replica of Crown." Kakyuu smiled as she took Lover's hand in her own. "I thought it would be a nice surprise, to have something to remind you of home when you're so far away."  
  
Lover smiled, it truly was a nice gesture and a great surprise, but it just brought back memories that she had been trying to suppress. She looked around the room again half expecting to see some one she knew, but knew that was impossible. "Arigato."  
  
Kakyuu noticed the fall in Lover's voice and feared that she had done something wrong. "Did I offend you?" She asked, hoping she was wrong. Shaking her head, Lover answered with a no. "I know there's something wrong, why don't you just tell me. You can trust me."  
  
Lover smiled and squeezed Kakyuu's hand. Kakyuu had been so nice to her since she arrived here, she took her in and granted her wish to be close to Fighter, she was really a good friend. "I know I can trust you. I just don't want to talk about it right now, maybe later."  
  
Kakyuu nodded and rose from her seat still taking hold of Lover's hand. "Come, now that you've seen something old, it's time to see something new!" She smiled trying to bring the smile back to Lover's face. Lover nodded and allowed herself to be directed out of the café.  
  
Their journey brought them to a large brick wall that extended quite a ways in both directions, leaving it up to Lover's imagination just what was on the other side and how big it was. They walked along the brick wall talking about everything and nothing at all until they came to an iron bar fence. "What's this?" Lover asked as Kakyuu played with the handle.  
  
"This is the royal garden of Kinmoku. Every kind of plant and flower that lives on Kinmoku grows here." She studied her face to see if she was pleased. A smile broke out on Lover's face as she ventured in through the now open gate.  
  
It had been a nice and relaxing day and the sun was just about to set in the distant mountains to the north. Lover lay with her hands folded behind her head on a soft patch of grass with her gloves and her boots off. "Kakyuu?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Why haven't you let me train with Fighter yet?" The question came out of nowhere. Kakyuu had managed to keep the conversation from Fighter for a while now and this was the first time her name was mentioned since earlier that afternoon.  
  
Kakyuu thought quickly for an excuse, she knew they would be heading back to the palace soon and she had hoped that this wouldn't have come up. "Fighter is the leader of the senshi, she has other duties that Healer and Maker don't have, therefore not leaving her with as much free time as the other two."  
  
"Oh." Lover sighed in disappointment. "Isn't there anyway that I can see her?"  
  
"I'll see what I can do." Kakyuu answered rolling onto her side and propping her head up with her hand, she noticed Lover's immediate smile. "What? You don't want to train with me?"  
  
Lover looked over questioningly at Kakyuu. "Nani?"  
  
Kakyuu sat up and towered above the confused blond senshi still on the ground. "You don't think I'm strong enough to take you?" She jumped on top of Lover.  
  
The move had taken Lover completely off guard but then she realized that Kakyuu was just fooling around and played along with her little game. "Oh, I know I can take you!"  
  
"Bring it on!" Kakyuu mused as she felt Lover turn the tables and pin her down. Their little wrestling match went on for a while until Kakyuu had enough. "Uncle, uncle, you win!" She called from under Lover with tears in her eyes from laughing so much.  
  
Lover just smiled down at her opponent and started flashing victory signs in the air while still sitting on top of her. "I'm the greatest, I know, I know!"  
  
"A little cocky huh?" Kakyuu raised an eyebrow. Lover stopped her show and smiled warmly back down at her.  
  
"I had a great time today, thank you so much for bringing me here and for everything you've done."  
  
Kakyuu reached up to put a few longer strands of hair that had come loose from their commotion back behind Lover's shoulder. "So beautiful..."  
  
"Hm?" Lover asked but liked the feel of her touch, it reminded her of her dream from this morning, the same scent in the air. Her eyes closed as she remembered the dream. Kakyuu saw this and sat up keeping Lover on her lap. She took the blonde's hand into her own and kissed her fingertips. Lover didn't pull away, but also didn't open her eyes. Kakyuu wrapped her arms around Lover's waist and gently began to kiss her collarbone.  
  
Lover's hips shifted but didn't move away as one of Kakyuu's hands came down to smooth its way up her bare leg. Light kisses made their way up Lover's neck and she finally gave in and lowered her head to meet with Kakyuu's lips. Kakyuu knew that this kiss wasn't meant for her, but she would accept it anyway. A picture of Fighter came to her mind and a small pain struck her heart, but she did not stop what she was doing as her finger tips pushed their way under the black leather shorts of her senshi. She could almost hear Fighter's voice, no wait, that was Fighter's voice.  
  
"Princess!" Fighter's voice was calling from outside the wall.  
  
"Mmmm... Seiya..." Lover trailed off and began to nibble at Kakyuu's ear until she realized that Kakyuu wasn't responding any more. This brought her back to her senses and they heard Fighter calling them again. Lover quickly removed herself from on top of Kakyuu and blushed furiously. "Gomen..."  
  
"You seem to be saying that a lot lately." Kakyuu smiled. "There's no reason to be sorry, I enjoyed it." There was a hint of something else in her smile as she looked over Lover, and she noticed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You couldn't find her?" Maker asked Fighter when she returned.  
  
Fighter shook her head. "It's getting late, it's not like her to stay out like this without telling one of us."  
  
"Don't worry, Lover is with her." Healer smiled as she came up to the two. Fighter shot her a glance and walked away still in search of Kakyuu. "Did I say something?" She asked sarcastically of Maker.  
  
Maker giggled a bit. "Doesn't she understand that she couldn't find the Princess because she didn't want her to?"  
  
"Must have been some surprise!"  
  
Fighter continued down the hall not able to hear the conversation that she left behind. She rounded the corner and saw Kakyuu leaving Lover's room and proceeding down the hall. They hadn't been in there a moment ago, Fighter had checked, they must have just gotten back. She didn't bother to call out to her Princess that had failed to notice her instead kept walking towards her room. She passed Lover's door on the way and noticed that it was slightly ajar.  
  
When she looked in she saw Lover taking her hair from its tie and letting it spill out over her back. She snapped her head to the side to send the golden locks sailing over her shoulder to cascade down over her breasts. This simple act had Fighter absolutely mesmerized. She was so much like her, she pushed the door open more and began to venture into the room. She wanted to touch her, to remember her Odango.  
  
"Fighter, I strongly suggest that you don't go in there." Kakyuu warned from behind her. Fighter froze in her position, she was caught, she turned her head back to look at Kakyuu in fear of what she was going to do to her. A smile appeared on Kakyuu's face. "She might be changing or something." She said with a raised finger and then shooed the senshi away.  
  
"Right." Fighter said and continued on her way to her room. Was Kakyuu going to yell at her later? Kakyuu watched Fighter go and a scowl appeared on her face when she thought of what could have happened even though she had tried to keep the two apart.  
  
Once in her room, Fighter closed the door and slid down the other side. Tears came to her eyes and she could no longer control herself. She had been trying for so long not to torture herself by dreaming of Usagi, and now, now there was a girl here that was like her in almost everyway, but not her Odango. This was sheer and utter pain.  
  
She detransformed and fell on to her bed. This wasn't fair, so often had Seiya dreamed of going back to Earth to see Usagi but knew that could never happen. Even if she could have seen her just in passing, to know that she was alright and happy that would have been enough. Her thoughts began to drift from Usagi to how much Lover reminded of her. Was Maker right? Would it be better if she were in love with Lover now instead of Usagi? She would never be able to forget Usagi, and she knew she could never truly and fully give her heart to Lover... but then again, neither could lover. Fighter knew what Kakyuu thought of this new Starlight, she already had some one on her mind.  
  
But what about that kiss?  
  
That kiss had a certain electricity to it, which Fighter chose to ignore the moment it had happened, but there was something there. Was there? You'd only be fooling yourself here. It's not her. But why can't I pretend? Fighter's mind slipped back to the images she remembered of Usagi.  
  
The night she was going to stay over there to be her bodyguard when Chibi Chibi had thrown cake at her. How strange it had been to be a male then, but then again her Odango probably would have preferred her that way, if at all. Usagi had gotten some of the cake on her too and also needed a change of clothes, but not a full out shower. She must have thought that Seiya was in the shower and started to change in her room. Seiya had needed a towel and had returned to ask Usagi for one when he saw her changing in her room. Her back was to him as she lifted her shirt up over her head. Her curves became visible covered by the delicate light skin that only an angel could possess.  
  
Seiya turned herself over on her bed to lie on her back, allowing her own hand to travel up her chest to take her breast in her hand fully. She remembered how much she had just wanted to walk in the room and touch her at that moment but had stopped and returned to the shower. She tugged her shirt off and pushed her pants to the end of the bed as she remembered the feeling she had when she had seen Lover earlier that day. The overwhelming urge to venture in to touch her, just the same as it had been all of those years ago. Her fingers slid into the front of her panties and felt the wet spot that her thoughts had created.  
  
She was actually going to go in and go to Lover earlier though, why didn't she stop herself like before? The sensation was sweet as she gently massaged herself into oblivion with one hand down her soaked panties and the other needing at her breasts. It was coming, along with the idea of why she hadn't stopped herself. Was it because she had been alone for too long and done this too many times? No, she stopped her self with Usagi because she loved Usagi, and cared not to hurt her. Lover would have been different, the sexual desire was there but the love and compassion were absent, pleasure through the sweet remembrance of pain. Her orgasm came as she shot two of her fingers inside her self and the tears followed once again.  
  
Broken and alone Seiya lie on her bed naked, not bothering to cover herself with the sheets, she cried herself to sleep once again. She was such a sight to Kakyuu when she peeked in her room to check on her sleeping Starlight that she couldn't help but realize just how much this was hurting her. 


	4. Lover Caves

Here it is, the NC-17 chapter for my fic. I've warned you from the beginning that it was coming! I believe it plays a very important role in this fic, so it's not just added fluff, so there! Oh and thanks again for the great reviews!! You guys are awesome!  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
(Lover Caves)  
  
Lover's spirits were high as she thought nothing could go wrong today. She had finally convinced Kakyuu to let her train with Fighter today. There was a permi-smile plastered on her face and she had her doubts that it would fade anytime soon.  
  
She ventured down the hall from her room towards Fighter's. It wasn't as if it was very early in the morning so the thought of waking her up hadn't even crossed her mind. Actually she had to stop herself from not waking Fighter up earlier, she had been so giddy like a kid at Christmas that she was ready to get out of bed and bolt down the hallway and jump on her bed.  
  
Fighter's door was shut and so Lover knocked. There was no answer from the other side. After knocking a few times Lover turned the handle and walked in. There on the bed across the room lay Seiya curled up and naked. Lover's eyes were wide but then turned her attention to the ceiling above her. "Could this day get any better?" She asked as though she was thanking god.  
  
Quietly she made her way over to the bedside and examined the sleeping girl in front of her. The curtains were drawn and letting only a small amount of light filter in through there protective barriers. This was enough light however to show Lover exactly what she wanted to see. Long slender legs made there way up to the seductive curves of her upper body. Lover ventured nearer until she was just about standing over the sleeping form. Her tight skin stretched taut over her abdomen to reveal the trained muscles of her stomach.  
  
Lover couldn't control herself any longer and reached her hand out to touch her. Starting at her shoulder and working her way to her jutted hip, Lover made a trail with her hand, tracing every curve. Before she could even think of where her hands would land next she felt her hand suddenly held captive.  
  
Seiya hadn't even so much as stirred in her sleep yet she had snatched Lover's hand from her body without even looking. Lover looked down with a smile as she saw Seiya's eye open and peer at her. She was absolutely captivating and Lover was frozen. Within a flash Seiya was out of bed and had her body pinned up against Lover's as she looked into her eyes one more time before capturing the smaller girl's lips in a kiss.  
  
Lover was amazed but wasn't about to let this opportunity pass, she swiftly brought her hands up to the back of Seiya's head to deepen the kiss. Seiya only responded by wrapping her arms tightly around Lover's waist. In the broad areas of where her fuku didn't cover, Lover could feel the warmth from Seiya's body pressing against her own and felt the urge to feel the entire length. She wouldn't have to wait long as she felt Seiya undoing the straps that held the top of her fuku on. Lover let out a moan from deep in her throat but never broke the kiss.  
  
With a bit of force Lover tried to push the taller girl down on the bed behind her. Damn these gloves, Lover cursed herself silently. She had full run of Seiya's nude body in front of her and these damn gloves were blocking her from exploring it to her full intent.  
  
"Seiya!" Healer's voice came from the door. Lover cursed herself again for leaving the blasted thing open. The two had been caught and looked over at their spy. Healer stood with a full crimson blush to her face as she tried to advert her eyes from what she had just seen. "Well I see you've already found out that you're supposed to be training Lover today... ummm... I can't think... of ... um... anything else to say right now... so I think I'll just be going!" And before either could respond Healer had taken off like a shot.  
  
Lover turned her attention back to Seiya in hopes that they could just pick up where they had left off, she liked this training, but Seiya had already walked way and was heading towards her bathroom. Her hair was loose from its holder and covered her rear leaving no show for Lover. "Um excuse me?" Lover called. Seiya stopped but said nothing, only turned her head to the side to catch a glance of Lover. "What just happened?" Lover asked confused as to why they had stopped. "Don't get me wrong, it's not that I didn't want that to happen!" She quickly added but was cut off by Seiya.  
  
"Get ready and meet me on the field in twenty minutes." Her tone was cold and showed nowhere near the same emotion that Lover had just felt a moment ago. With the slam of the bathroom door Lover took that as her cue to leave.  
  
What was she doing? Seiya set the knobs in the shower to the warmth she wanted. She knew exactly what she was doing. "Well I tried." She laughed a bit to herself. She had wanted to see if Lover could have made a substitute for the memory of Usagi, and is was plain as day to her now that she couldn't. Oh, you're just telling yourself that. You never wanted it to work. Seiya shook these doubts and others from her head as she entered the shower with a clear mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Again?" Maker asked trying to mask her obvious amusement. "That poor girl is going to hate you."  
  
"Shut up!" Healer huffed and sat down.  
  
Maker laughed at the reaction she was getting from her teasing. "That would definitely only happen to you!" Maker crossed the room to put the book she had been reading back in its place on her shelf. "Since Fighter is going to be training Lover today, I guess that gives us both the day off today!"  
  
A smile appeared on Healer's face. "Oh trust me, I'm well aware of that one!"  
  
"Oh, and are you saying you already have plans?" Maker asked inquisitively as she eyed Healer. The smile that grew bigger on the silver haired girl's face was evidence enough that she did. "Don't tell me you're doing that today?!"  
  
For normal people a smile larger than the one that Healer was already sporting would have been impossible to top, but she managed to do it. "Yup!"  
  
"Does Zankou know that you're using him for your little experiment?"  
  
"He will soon!" Healer winked as she got up and headed for the door.  
  
Maker shook her head and just looked at her. "Tell me, what's so wrong with being gay?" She asked as though they had gone over the question repeatedly.  
  
"I'm not gay, I'll prove it! There just happens to be a shortage of men around here and that's the only reason that I find myself drawn to women!" Her smile went from broad to almost non-existent.  
  
Healer had turned her back on Maker and didn't notice that she had detransformed into Taiki, a male Taiki. Taiki came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You want to give it a go?" He asked and began laughing when the shorter girl jumped out of his grasp.  
  
"That's not funny!" Healer said and stormed out of the room. Taiki just laughed at her reaction some more and transformed into Maker again.  
  
Healer walked down the hall towards her room to get ready for her day out with Zankou with her mood being chipped away by the second since Taiki's remark. She had never really had any sexual thoughts about men, women or anyone for that matter before they had gone to Earth. While on Earth Healer found herself, or rather Yaten becoming attracted to a blond woman named Minako. The feeling was very strange and alien to her but it wasn't a bad one, no she rather enjoyed it. Maker had noticed this change in her while on Earth and found it to be her constant duty to snoop around in what was going on in her head. She would have turned to Fighter, but she seemed preoccupied with her own problem.  
  
Once she returned home, Healer passed her emotions and desires for the Earth senshi away claiming that it was only because she had been a man then. A man, a woman, what difference did it matter really, the entire time she held the same mind. That thought would haunt her sometimes but every time it crept up from the back of her mind she would always shoot it down with another excuse or just do something else.  
  
When she began looking at her best friend Maker in this new skewed way that's when she realized she had a problem. Zankou, he would be her tester. Sure he wasn't an overly handsome man or anything, but he was a man nonetheless and would have to do under the circumstances. Could she go through with this? Sure she could, she wasn't gay... just keep telling yourself that.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lover walked determinedly to the field where she was to meet Fighter for her training. Ideas of what she had done wrong passed freely through her mind without coming to one conclusion. Maybe she just wanted to freshen up for her, yeah, that's got to be it. She spotted a figure as she came up over the hill. "You're late." Fighter said not giving any idea to what kind of mood she was in.  
  
"Ah, how sweet, did you miss me?" Lover said batting her eyes looking cutely at Fighter.  
  
Fighter raised a brow to her statement. "Now why would you think that?"  
  
Lover came up a little closer to Fighter and played with the other girl's sailor collar. "I don't know, I was just thinking that we could pick up where we had left off this morning, what do ya say?" She looked up almost pleadingly to Fighter's gorgeous sapphire eyes.  
  
"No." Fighter grabbed her had and forcefully cast it off her body. "We're here to train and nothing else. I don't know what you think happened this morning, but it looks as though you misunderstood."  
  
"Nani?" Lover asked rubbing her now sore wrist with her other hand. "What did I understand? The fact that you were just about all over me a little while ago and now you look at me as though I'm a pile of trash?"  
  
"I guess you didn't misunderstand after all." A faint smile came to Fighter's lips. She could tell that she had gotten her blood boiling, this would make for a pretty interesting training session. "We're going to work on your defense today."  
  
Lover was beyond pissed. This woman, the woman she had grown to know and love had just called her a worthless piece of... "Come on, we're not going to stand around here all day!" Fighter shouted to the blond and she could have sworn she had seen a vein pop in her eye. Fighter was definitely pleased with herself.  
  
"What is this place?" Lover asked as she came to their destination.  
  
Fighter didn't bother to address her only stared into the forest ahead of her. "This is an enchanted forest, it's only one of four on this planet." She started walking into the shadowy labyrinth that the trees created. "Here you will have to be on your guard from me and the elements of the forest."  
  
"You're going to attack me?"  
  
"Of course I am, how else were you planning on learning to defend yourself? I'm going to track you and hunt you down until you give up. Oh, and don't worry. If the forest becomes too much for you, maybe Kakyuu will come and save you!" Fighter gave her a shove and disappeared. "Ja, happy hunting!" She called from high above.  
  
Just great, here she was trying to get closer to Fighter and all Fighter wanted her to do was get as far away from her as possible. "Screw this!" Lover said out loud and turned to exit the forest, only the clearing they had just come from was gone. She had no choice, she had to hide from Fighter... unless I let her find me... no, she made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with her... besides would she really respect me if she could beat me? She doesn't see me in the correct light, perhaps I can gain her respect by beating her at her own game. "Too slow!" Fighter said tripping the girl from behind.  
  
"Now is that anyway to treat a lady?"  
  
"You, my dear, are not a lady! On your feet!" And with that Fighter disappeared again.  
  
Bitch! Lover cursed Fighter in her head, but she loved that arrogant bitch no matter what she did, ne? She began running fast through the forest not paying very close attention to where she was going only the fact that she was heading away from the spot she had seen Fighter. Sooner than later she found herself face first in a pile of leaves and looked behind her to see what had happened. She found her assailant, a root of the tree had come up out of the ground and was waving at her as if saying tsk, tsk. "Why you little..."  
  
"You little what?" Fighter asked from behind Lover holding her in a chokehold. "You had better do better than that."  
  
Once released Lover turned around to face her captor. "If I didn't know better I'd say you just wanted to hold me, am I right?"  
  
A grin appeared on Fighter's face before she gave her answer. "There are plenty of things I would like to do to you, I doubt you'd find any of them to be very pleasant though."  
  
"Why do you hate me so much?"  
  
"I don't hate you." Fighter answered still amused with their little game.  
  
Lover was becoming more frustrated with this situation. "You're certainly not nice to me! You show me no respect at all."  
  
Fighter removed herself from her casual position leaning against a tree. "Respect you? Why should I respect you?"  
  
"I got it, it's because of her isn't it? I'm not her, you don't think I could ever come close to being her don't you!" Lover was shouting and almost on the verge of tears. This was the only explanation she could think of as to why Fighter would be so heartless to her, and she was right.  
  
"No, you're right, you could never be her." Fighter answered unphased by Lover's state. "No one can ever compare to her. Now get up and quit sniveling. We have one more run to make and then I can be rid of you."  
  
"How could you know that no one could compare to her if you don't at least try to see it? Tell me, am I not good enough?" Lover found herself once again deserted, but Fighter had heard her last words and felt as though she was going to collapse.  
  
She was right, but Fighter had tried. Did you really? Shut up! I tried, and failed. Did you honestly give her a chance? No. And why not? Because you were afraid that she may hold close to the same light as she did. No! I didn't give her a chance because I don't want anyone to take her place.  
  
Fighter fought to keep her balance as she felt herself sailing backwards towards the ground. The impact was rough and when she opened her eyes she saw Lover on top of her holding her shoulders to the ground. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that the rest of her senses had been blocked and didn't know Lover had come up on her. There was a new emotion in Lover's eyes now though. It was subtle but Fighter definitely noticed it. She no longer looked at her with those smiling eyes and carefree tone, no, it seems as though that shine was now a little duller and broken.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was a sweet day, Maker and Kakyuu sat together under the shade of an umbrella on the patio. Maker was caught up in a novel she had been reading while Kakyuu looked in the distance to see the clouds roll across the sky. Peaceful. "They finished early I see." Kakyuu commented with a smile on her face.  
  
Maker looked up from her book and looked in the direction that the Princess had been referring to, "It looks as though Fighter has gotten beaten today."  
  
Fighter wasn't exactly the best loser, she rarely lost at anything and when she did the outcome was not pretty. "Perhaps." Kakyuu noticed what she had been referring to in the distance that was between Lover and Fighter as they walked in from the field not saying a word to one another. "I'll be in my chambers." Kakyuu said as she slipped her shoes back on and headed inside.  
  
She didn't do this, Fighter had kept Lover away from herself, by herself. Kakyuu could have a clear conscious. Or could she? She always could have let Lover tell Fighter who she really was and they both could have been happy, but what chance would Kakyuu have then? None. It was obvious to anyone that Lover had no idea who Fighter's true love was and it was obvious that Fighter had no idea just who Lover was. They had torn themselves apart before they even knew they were together.  
  
"Kakyuu?" Kakyuu turned from her walk across Lover's room to see a picture of perfection standing in her doorway. Without any other words Lover crossed the room and became encased in Kakyuu's arms. No one wanted her, she had run away from her home to find her missing love and when she did she didn't accept her. Her friends were now foreign to her and the only one who had showed her any compassion through out this whole charade had been Kakyuu.  
  
Lover nuzzled her face into the slender curve of Kakyuu's neck as she held her to her. Kakyuu backed away a bit and Lover detransformed. When the magic was gone and the two stood alone, Kakyuu's plan had fit right into place. Kakyuu beckoned her foreword with her index finger and Usagi gave her a slight smile in return as she ventured back over to the fire haired girl once more. Kakyuu also backing up at the same place led her over to her perfectly set bed.  
  
Usagi's hands came up to Kakyuu's shoulder as she kissed her lips quickly and gently while soothing her down onto the bed. Once she had her laid out in front of her, Usagi removed the light sundress that she had been wearing to stand before Kakyuu in only her panties. Kakyuu sat up on the bed and took the blonde's nipple in between her lips, her hands traveled up the backs of her legs to grab her firm cheeks. Usagi tilted her head back and ran her hands down Kakyuu's back tugging her zipper down at the same time. Slowly she brought each of her knees up to the sides of Kakyuu and towered above her on the bed.  
  
Moving her hands up to her hips Kakyuu pulled Usagi closer to her as she made a smooth trail with her tongue up the crease in her stomach to in turn take her other vulnerable breast into her mouth. Usagi removed the crown that denoted Kakyuu's rein as Princess and threw it to the foot of the bed then proceeded to rip the front of Kakyuu's dress down so that the entire garment rested at her hips. "You are so beautiful, you know that?" Kakyuu whispered to her as she ran her fingers through her golden hair that was undone from its clasps.  
  
Fighter knew what she had done and said to Lover earlier was wrong. This girl was openly giving herself to her and she just shoved her away. What if Usagi had done that to Seiya while he was on Earth? He would have been completely heart broken, all he wanted was a chance. Lover deserved a chance. Taking special care to select just the right rose from the garden Fighter progressed towards Lover's room.  
  
Usagi stood and pulled Kakyuu's dress down her legs noting to take her panties along with it. There she was sprawled out on Usagi's bed. Usagi stood for a moment and took in the beauty that she had just unwrapped. She wasn't Fighter though, but she wanted her. Without thinking about it further Usagi removed her panties and joined Kakyuu on the bed. Their flesh pressed together as Usagi shifted her body to feel her aroused nipples rub against Kakyuu's bare skin.  
  
Kakyuu looked up and into the eyes of the woman that had made her go to such lengths to obtain her while sliding a hand down to her sex. Usagi shook her head. "No, I owe you." She said then massaged Kakyuu's breasts with her hands as her lips made a trail of kisses between the valley of her breast and down her smooth stomach. Once she made her way down to Kakyuu's hairless mound she slid one of her hands down to open her up. Placing kisses on her inner thigh Usagi found that she couldn't take the temptation any longer and began licking at the insides of Kakyuu's now spread lips.  
  
Fighter thought she was going to be sick.  
  
Kakyuu's back arched with pleasure and she brought her knees up. Loving the reaction that this small gesture was getting from Kakyuu Usagi ventured further delving her tongue into her slick canal. Still playing with her erect swollen nipple she began to massage Kakyuu pink pleasure jewel with her tongue in hard strokes that she was sure was going to bring her to orgasm. Usagi felt her own clit begin to swell between her legs as an overwhelming wetness and desire made themselves known. About to cum Kakyuu moved her hips and swiveled herself along with Usagi's movement when Usagi suddenly stopped. "Not yet." She smiled up from her work.  
  
The hand that had been on Kakyuu's nipple now made its way down to pleasure her nether areas. Usagi's face came up and her lips met with Kakyuu's sealing them in a kiss while she gently slid on finger inside of her lover. Massaging the spot that made Kakyuu so delighted with her thumb she slid yet another finger inside of her and pumped them in and out in a smooth repetition. Sensing that Kakyuu was drawing near her peek by the force she had put into their kiss Usagi place two more fingers inside of Kakyuu's gyrating hips and curled them up to grab her in her pleasure spot. This was all Kakyuu could take and welcomed her orgasm to come freely. Her body shook with each spasm and Usagi could feel the warm rush of fluid that had come down onto her hand. She brought her now drenched hand up and licked away the necture of Kakyuu's contentment.  
  
When Kakyuu came back to her senses she reached up and pulled Usagi down on top of her kissing her deeply in a sense thanking her for the immense pleasure she had just shown her. Kakyuu made her way out from under Usagi to come around the back of her. Usagi sat up and sat on Kakyuu's lap with her back to her. Before she knew it Kakyuu had inserted three fingers inside Usagi wasting no time. Usagi fondled herself as she swayed her hips to help Kakyuu pleasure her more. It didn't take long for her to reach her breaking point. Just before her orgasm came she opened her eyes and saw Fighter standing in the doorway watching them. "Seiya!" She screamed as her orgasm claimed her. Kakyuu had seen Fighter since Usagi had sat on her lap and smiled a devious smile at her while she had pleasured the blond, staking what was hers, but when she heard her call out Seiya's name that had been it and she shoved her entire fist into Usagi's vagina.  
  
Fighter dropped the rose to the floor and moved from the doorway to down the hall. A few petals had fallen when it came in contact with the marble floor and a few tears slid down Usagi's face when she realized what she had just done. Kakyuu pulled her fist out and allowed Usagi to fall forward on the bed. There were traces of blood on her fist and she saw a streak of it down Usagi's thigh. "I'm sorry, I thought you would like that." Kakyuu said as she got up and replaced her gown leaving Usagi lying on her bed. 


	5. Jomaku/Unveiling

Thank you all for the great reviews once again! And to that certain some one that didn't think I would like their review, who the hell cares what I think? Write what you want, I'd love to hear it either way! ^_~ By the way, I actually did like that review! This chapter is dedicated to the hime I ran into at the airport... Thanks for the cheese fries and I so let you win!  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
(Jomaku/Unveil)  
  
Maker walked in to find Fighter sitting in a chair beside the window gazing out at the night stars. She was often found this way, and this usually meant to leave her alone, but Maker saw that there was a new problem plaguing her and it was a little deeper than the usual gripe one would pick up during a day. From the way she had seen her and Lover come in from their training today she assumed that the two were connected in some way, Lover and her problem.  
  
"Care to tell me about it?" Maker asked as she leaned against the windowsill and took in the sight that had captivated Fighter. She knew just what she was looking at and every time she saw her doing it she felt a little more sorry for her.  
  
"She called me Seiya." Fighter answered giving Maker a bit of a start since she hadn't exactly been expecting her to say anything.  
  
"Nani? Who called you Seiya?" Maker turned her head to look down at the black haired woman.  
  
"Lover." It almost pained her to say her name.  
  
Maker let a light laugh out. "Well that's your name isn't it?"  
  
"I never told her my name, did you?" She turned her sights up to meet with Maker's for the first time during this conversation.  
  
Maker shook her head and she had her answer. "But seeing how close her and Kakyuu have been, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if she told her. For all I know, she probably knows my name too."  
  
This answer didn't seem sufficient enough for Fighter as she continued to look out to the distant star that the Earth revolved around. "No, she said it as though she knew me by that name, when I saw them, she sounded almost..."  
  
"When you saw who? You're not making sense here. I think you've been spending too much time with Healer, you're taking on some of her worse characteristics."  
  
Fighter actually laughed a bit at the statement and Maker knew that it wasn't the end of the world after all. "I was going to try." She sighed as she thought back upon the mistake she made earlier. "I was going to try and love her. I finally saw my mistake but it was too late. When I went to her room to apologize to her I found her on top of Kakyuu... What a fool I was to believe anything she told me."  
  
The taller senshi wasn't shocked at all by what her friend had just told her and kept her composure. "You knew from the beginning what Kakyuu's intentions for her were. It's not anyone else's fault besides your own that you let yourself believe there was room for one more in that situation." Maker didn't dare look at Fighter's eyes, she knew this wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it had to be said either way. "Don't think I didn't hear about your little escapade this morning."  
  
"Healer does have a big mouth."  
  
"So what are you going to do about it?"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
Maker turned and began to head out of the room. "So what are you going to do about Kakyuu and Lover?"  
  
"What can I do?" Fighter had no idea what Maker was getting at and swiveled in her chair as not to let her escape her view.  
  
Maker stopped before she got to the door. "Are you just going to let it alone? Or are you actually going to fight at a shot at happiness this time?" And with that she left the room closing the door behind her and leaving Fighter with this thought.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Usagi sat on her bed having not moved a muscle since Kakyuu had left her alone. She felt used almost and worse off she felt that she had betrayed Seiya in some way. She had come back, after all of the things she had said to her today, as much as she tried to push her away today she came back. How did she reward her for her actions? She stabbed her in the heart by making love to another.  
  
Usagi continued to cry and her arm brushed against something wet. The soiled sheets from her actions were still surrounding her. She had to get out of here, she had to clear this from her head if only for a moment. With a single phrase Lover replaced Usagi, stood up and ran from her room. She had no idea where she was going but at the moment that didn't seem too important to her.  
  
How could she ever expect Fighter to forgive her after what she had done? If she had held any chance of comparing to the love Fighter had lost she had just thrown that out the window. She came up on the sitting room and saw Kakyuu sipping on a glass of red wine while listening to some music that resembled the serenade of a violin. She wasn't ready to deal with her yet. Before she would have ran to Kakyuu for advice, but now after what had just happened she thought it better not to.  
  
Her mind was going a mile a minute along with the pounding of her heart. Her feet kept her wandering around the halls of the palace until she found herself right back where she started. She spotted Maker coming out of Fighter's room and figured it best not to consult her. True she knew what Fighter was thinking having just talked with her, but that reason was the same reason why she shouldn't talk to her. She didn't need to be yelled at right now, her mind was punishing her enough.  
  
There was only one last person to turn to and that was Healer. Lover remembered how on Earth she never would have gone to Healer for anything, let alone comfort and advice, but there was always two sides to a person. Since she had come to Kinmoku, Lover had witnessed the somewhat softer side of Healer. She waited until Maker was out of sight before she rounded the corner coming into the senshi hall. It was so quiet, she had never really realized just how disturbing the silence was when she was alone before.  
  
There was a trace of light creeping out from beneath Healer's door, so she knew she was in there. She knocked lightly then looked around to see if anyone else had come up around her. She was alone, still surrounded by dark and silence. "Healer?" She knocked again and called to the closed door.  
  
There was some muffled noise that sounded like movement coming from the other side of the door. Lover knocked again and the noise stopped, but when Healer still did not answer the door she called again, this time a little louder. "Hold still." Came a muted response in a masculine tone. That couldn't be good. Lover thought to herself and knocked again. All movement and noise from the room ceased and there was only silence once again.  
  
A vase shattering on the floor broke the silence and Lover burst into the room. Her heroics were short lived however when she felt a hand grab her from behind. Healer was sitting on the bed crying wearing a torn spring dress and messed up hair. Lover had no idea who had hold of her but that didn't stop her from clawing and kicking her way free. The man shut the door and threw Lover against the wall opposite the bed. "You stay there. Don't you think you've caused enough trouble already?" He asked staring down at Lover.  
  
"Zankou?" Lover asked holding her shoulder. He had thrown her quite hard and she felt as though she had just broken every bone in her body. Zankou made his way back over to Healer. "Leave her alone!" Lover tried to call out.  
  
Zankou only laughed at her response as he put an arm around Healer. "Stop what? She asked me to do this. Didn't you sweet heart?" He smoothed her hair to the side that was stuck to her cheek by her tears.  
  
"Healer?" Lover asked trying to get up. "Why aren't you fighting back? You don't have to take this?" She had always seemed so tough as though she had an impermeable exterior, Lover never thought the girl would break down like this.  
  
"I told you, she asked for it." Zankou stood and kicked Lover in the stomach to ensure the fact that she wasn't getting up.  
  
"I don't want to." Healer said meekly from the bed. She was trembling and scared, this was not at all the way she thought these events would turn out. Zankou had been so nice and sweet to her the past couple of days. It was true that she had lead him on a bit, but no one asks to be raped.  
  
"Nani?" He mocked her. "I didn't quite hear you my dear." He said pressing his lips against hers and holding the back of her hair to make sure she didn't wiggle free.  
  
"Let me clarify it for you jack ass!" Lover was just about to her feet. "She said no!"  
  
Zankou shot Lover the iciest look she had ever seen. He viciously ripped himself from Healer and bolted across the room to start assaulting Lover. "What the hell do you know? You're the reason that I have to resort to this!" He kicked her hard in the stomach once again and then picked her up by her collar. "Before you came along I was the only one Kakyuu would come to." He slammed his knee into her stomach causing her to buckle over further.  
  
Lover didn't care what kind of pain he was inflicting upon her, in a twisted way she saw this as her punishment for what she had done to Fighter. "Well I guess you just didn't have what it took, now did you?" She smiled with blood coming from the corner of her mouth.  
  
"No!" Healer came up and jumped on Zankou's back causing him to stagger backwards and drop Lover.  
  
"Shut up bitch!" He backhanded Healer and sent her flying across the room. He then turned his attention back to Lover gasping on the floor. "Listen here little princess." He grabbed her again and slapped her in the face. "Why didn't you just stay on your own damn planet? What, the ever powerful Sailor Moon got bored? You couldn't find a good piece of ass among your own senshi? You had to come here and steal mine?!"  
  
Zankou's grip around her neck tightened and tears began to fall down her cheeks. "What, no wise remarks? You're not so tough now are you?"  
  
STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!!  
  
The attack blasted Zankou in the back burning his flesh away and in turn he dropped Lover to her knees.  
  
STAR SENSITIVE INFERNO!!  
  
Healer attacked him again though he wasn't moving causing his flesh to only blacken and skidding him across the room. She stood over him and raised her arm again to attack. "No... Healer, stop it!" Lover said grabbing onto the other girl's leg.  
  
Healer looked down at her with mixed emotions. This girl had just saved her, but yet if what Zankou had said was true... "He's going to die from those wounds anyway." Healer scuffed and sat down next to Lover.  
  
"I'm sorry." Lover said wrapping an arm around Healer's shoulders. She didn't shrug it off as she had expected her to, but instead leaned into the embrace.  
  
"It was my fault..." Healer began to sob a bit. "I let him think that I wanted to, I thought I wanted to... but when it came down to it..."  
  
"When it came down to it, when you said no he should have listened." Lover said pissed that Healer could even be blaming herself in anyway for this situation.  
  
Healer sobbed into Lover's chest as she just held her tight. "I'm going to jail... they're going to kill me."  
  
"From what I saw it was self defense." Lover said trying to comfort the upset girl in her arms. It was true that she would have to stand trial for his death. That is, if he died. Lover pushed Healer off of her and struggled to stand up. "I won't let them hurt you." She smiled down at her and pulled a golden object form her fuku.  
  
MOON ETERNAL MAKE-UP!!  
  
Healer watched in amazement as Lover transformed into the familiar figure of Eternal Sailor Moon. Zankou was telling the truth. Her tier appeared in her hand and she looked back at Healer with a sadness in her eyes before she raised it high above her head.  
  
STARLIGHT HONEYMOON CRYSTAL POWER KISS!!  
  
The room was engulfed in an oray of colors and lights and it shook the very ground they stood on. Such power to be dormant in such a petite woman. When the power faded and Sailor Moon brought her hands to her sides Zankou lay in front of them healed from any damage that they had caused.  
  
"Healer!" There was a pounding at the door. Sailor Moon quickly transformed into Lover again just before Fighter and Maker burst through the door. "Healer? What was that just now?"  
  
Healer looked at Zankou and then at Lover. "I don't know what you're talking about?" She said dumbly and raised her shoulders in a shrug.  
  
Fighter and Maker just sweat dropped and then looked at Lover. "You mean to tell us that you have no idea where that power just came from that shook the entire palace?" The two just sat on the floor and shook their heads.  
  
"What happened to him?" Maker pointed to Zankou laying on the floor unconscious.  
  
Sure Healer could have blown her cover right then and there but she didn't. "He had a little too much to drink at dinner tonight and I'm afraid he can't hold his liquor very well. I asked Lover here to help me carry him back to his room."  
  
"Oh." Maker answered now aware that Fighter had left, no doubtedly because she couldn't stand to look at Lover. "I would have helped."  
  
"You were with Fighter." Lover answered still trying to think of excuses.  
  
Maker's eyes narrowed. "Speaking of Fighter, I think it would be best if you just stayed away from her for a while. She told me what happened earlier." Lover looked down in shame and didn't respond to Maker's statement. She doubted that Fighter would let her near her even if she tried.  
  
Healer shot a puzzled look in Lover's direction and noted to ask her about it later. "Well, what are you two doing? Let's get this drunk ass off of my floor!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Usagi?" Healer questioned Lover from behind her after they shut Zankou's door. Lover turned around to look at her. "Why are you here?"  
  
Lover stopped. "Some times I wonder that myself." She said with a bittersweet smile. "You can't tell anyone who I really am, especially not Fighter or Maker."  
  
"Does Kakyuu know?"  
  
"You know, we really shouldn't be talking about this here in the open. Let's go somewhere else." Lover said looking around to see if anyone else had already learned too much. Healer nodded in agreement. They walked out into the night air. It was dripping with moisture that would turn to dew in the morning. Luring themselves out into an opening, therefore leaving no places unwanted ears could hide in, they sat down and commenced their conversation.  
  
"You still haven't answered my question." Healer said in suspense about the whole situation. She figured she should be mad at her for lying to her this entire time but she wasn't, some how, for some reason she felt bad for her.  
  
"Yes, Kakyuu knows. She's the one that told me I couldn't tell you guys about my true identity in order to become a Starlight?" Lover looked up at the stars above them, back towards where she knew her true home to be.  
  
The answer still didn't satisfy Healer's question and she asked on. "But that doesn't explain what you're doing here." She looked over at Lover just staring at the stars trying to picture her in her old form. She looked so different without those damn buns on top of her head.  
  
Lover looked away and smiled at Healer. "I came here for Fighter."  
  
"Nani?"  
  
The blond sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees that she had brought up to her chest. "I came here because I was in love with Fighter. I asked Kakyuu to make me a Starlight so that I could stay here with you guys... to be with Fighter everyday."  
  
Healer's eyes were wide and almost bulging out of her head. This information was too much. Lover loved Fighter, Usagi loved Seiya, and all this time she had been torturing herself thinking she was in a one-sided love. "You came here for...Fffighter?" She wanted to make sure she had this right. "What did the other senshi have to say about this?"  
  
Lover placed her forehead on top of her knees. "They don't know I came."  
  
"I'm sure they must know by now, I mean you haven't been there for a long time now." Healer's mood in no way reflected Lover's cool depressed façade.  
  
"No." Lover picked her head up. "I haven't talked to any of them in a great while. We all pretty much grew apart when we graduated even Mamoru and I."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Lover gave her a faint smile. "It's alright, you're talking like it was your fault." Tears had welled up in her eyes and glistened in the starlight. "I screwed that up all by myself, just like I've fucked this all up too."  
  
"What did you do?" Healer was confused, she had just seen Lover and Seiya kissing this morning, what could have changed in a day?  
  
"I lost hope... I lost my way... I temporarily lost sight of that one thing that drives me from day to day... but worse of all I lost any chance at winning Fighter's love." This wasn't the first time she had admitted this to herself, but it was the first time she had said it aloud, for some reason it made all the difference and it hurt so much more now. The truth was finalized in her mind.  
  
Healer looked strangely at Lover for a moment. "What could you have done that was so horrible that Fighter wouldn't still absolutely adore you?"  
  
"I became desperate and alone when Fighter rejected me today. She pretty much told me I was nothing to her and could never replace that one girl that she loves. Having no home, no friends and no one to turn to, I ran to Kakyuu... and that's where Fighter found me... in the arms of another woman." By now the tears were flowing freely down Lover's face as she recalled the events that had gotten her to this point. Healer didn't say anything, and she just assumed it was out of disgust. Then it dawned on her, what Healer had just said. "What did you mean by she `absolutely adored me'?"  
  
"You really are an odango-atama, you know that?" Healer mocked her with a faint smile. She wasn't disgusted with her at all, in fact she knew somewhat how she felt. "YOU... You are the one girl that Fighter loves, or rather Usagi is, but it's still you."  
  
Lover wiped her tears away with the back of her glove. "Nani?"  
  
"I get it now." Healer stood up with a bit of determination in her features. "I don't know when or how it happened but Kakyuu must have become infatuated with you. She knew all along of Fighter's love for you and THAT'S why she wouldn't let you tell us who you really were."  
  
Lover's emotions were about to boil over. How could she been so naïve to fall for such a lame excuse as the one Kakyuu gave her. Rage and fury tempted her mind as she thought of the pain and suffering she had gone through just playing along with Kakyuu's sick little game. Lover stood and began running in towards the palace.  
  
"Wait!!" Healer called after her as she soon got up and followed her lead. "Lover wait!!" She was running fast, so fast in fact that Healer couldn't keep up, which surprised her.  
  
Pure passion drove Lover's body at such a tremendous speed as she only had one thing on her mind. Kakyuu. How could one person be so malice and cruel? Not only was she hurting Lover but Fighter too. Lover saw Maker up ahead on the side of the hall and could still hear Healer trailing behind her.  
  
"Maker grab her quick!" Healer called ahead to her brunette partner. "Don't let her get by!"  
  
Maker jumped out to the middle of the hallway coming into the path of the speeding Lover. "Lover stop, just stop." She said preparing for the impact. Lover had no intentions of slowing down let alone stopping. When she finally made it to the tall senshi she dropped to the floor and slid between her legs coming up on the other side and looking back.  
  
Healer had gained significantly on her and had now reached Maker but it didn't appear as though they were going to chase her any further and she soon found out why. Lover felt two strong arms encapsulate her from behind but with the momentum she had gained and that of her assailant they were both knocked to the ground. "Let me go!" Lover struggled to get free but the other person's hold was firm on her.  
  
"Fighter, don't let her go!" Healer called to the raven-haired senshi clutching to the blond on the marble floor.  
  
Lover stopped struggling once she realized just who was holding her. "Some one mind telling me just what's going on?" Maker asked from beside Healer.  
  
Lover still had Kakyuu on her mind and needed to get to her while her fury was still raging. She had to make Fighter let go of her. "I knew you just wanted to hold me." She whispered to Fighter as she waited for her hold to let up a bit.  
  
Her hold didn't let up at all, in fact it tightened a bit as Fighter answered back with a sensuous voice. "Maybe I did." 


	6. The Wind Cries

What? No chincy author notes at the beginning of the chapter? Thank you for all the great reviews! You guys are awesome! ^_^  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
(The wind cries)  
  
"It was definitely the energy of the silver crystal, are you sure?" Haruka questioned her lover as they sat along the coastline in her sports car. They had just been driving along the shore taking a break from life itself, an escape in essence, when they felt a strong surge of power.  
  
Michiru examined her mirror in front of her then looked back to Haruka. "I'm positive. It's the Princess and she's on Kinmoku." The car door slammed which made Michiru jump at the sudden noise. "Shouldn't we call the others?" Michiru asked not yet getting out of the vehicle but instead leaning her elbow out over it's door.  
  
"The others? They were supposed to be looking after her, they are the last people we should be turning to for help. No, you and I are doing this and we're doing this NOW!" Her voice was stern but Michiru knew it wasn't meant towards her. Haruka had always been drawn to their Princess in a special way and never wanted to see any harm come to her. After all it was her duty to protect her, she just became sensitive when it came to matters concerning Usagi.  
  
URANUS PLANET POWER, MAKE-UP!!  
  
Sailor Uranus stood before the wide spread ocean with the wind whipping through her hair. "You look just like a super hero like that." Michiru mused as she got out of the car and shut the door soundly behind her.  
  
"What are you talking about, I am a super hero." Uranus winked over at her. "Do you want me to prove it?"  
  
"Not now, later." Michiru smiled.  
  
NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE-UP!!  
  
Michiru felt bad not even informing Pluto of their plans. For so long it had only been her and Haruka to get the job done, but ever since they had found Setsuna she acted as sort of a guide and mentor to them. This was something none of the other senshi could ever do, but Setsuna couldn't be there all the time, and some things just needed to be done on their own. Michiru didn't see tending to matters of their princess as one of them.  
  
It didn't take too long to reach the planet of Kinmoku. Travel of any kind was not a problem for Neptune and Uranus, they possessed powers superior to those of the inner senshi. Having no idea of what to expect when they arrived they were on immediate defense as they landed in an open field. "Do you honestly think they kidnapped her?" Neptune asked Uranus only half seriously.  
  
"No, but if she's using the crystal here, that can't be a good sign that all is well." Uranus looked around her to gain her bearings. "The wind of this planet is so similar to ours." She voiced her thoughts aloud as the gentle breeze stirred her fuku around her. Her eyes stopped on the far horizon.  
  
"I see it too." Neptune said as she saw what Uranus had stopped on. Without another word the two were heading towards the royal palace of Kinmoku at a rapid pace. In no time at all they would be upon its gates.  
  
The two planetary guardians waited crouched among the treetops to see just how many guards there were surrounding the gates. "Should we be nice and present ourselves properly?" Uranus asked with a bit of a smirk.  
  
There were five guards at the gate and it seemed there were palace workers mulling around in the courtyard just inside of it. "Now that's not your style." Neptune shook her head and prepared to launch off of the branch she was perched on seeing as how Uranus wouldn't be there much longer.  
  
The guards below were laxed and it didn't look as though there was ever much threat of some one storming the gates. Leave it to Uranus to be the first in that department. In a few swift moves the two were over the wall and blending into the shadows of the courtyard. A few people turned their heads to a sudden movement but found nothing there but the sweet music of a bug that resembled a cricket.  
  
"We should find the Starlights." Neptune suggested closely following every move that Uranus made.  
  
Uranus paused momentarily too look into a finely cut window to a throne room. "No, we head straight for the Princess." The Starlights had Uranus and Neptune's Princess therefore they were going to confront theirs.  
  
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Neptune asked with a smile on her face, an uncommon gesture for the expression. Within seconds they crept into the palace unbeknownst to anyone. "How are we even supposed to find her?"  
  
"We'll ask some one." Uranus gave her a playful smile and began walking across the giant room not afraid of blowing her cover. Footsteps were drawing near them, echoing down the hall, before Neptune could even warn Uranus she was plastered up against the wall next to the door.  
  
Zankou had woken up and wandered down the hall having no clue as to what had happened. "Funny I thought I heard voices." He mumbled to himself and peered into the throne room. There in the middle of the room stood the beautiful Neptune waving at him and she proceeded to blow him a kiss. Zankou was so dumbfounded as to what was going on that he had no time to react before Uranus was upon him. She held him with one hand over his mouth and the other arm under his to hold him in a half nelson.  
  
"Look Neptune, I found some one to ask." Uranus smiled a childish grin that Neptune had grown to love.  
  
"It's urgent that we speak with Princess Kakyuu. Would you please show us where we can find her?" Neptune asked in a civilized manner but Zankou only shook his head. "No?"  
  
"I think you'll change your mind." Uranus tightened her hold on him making his eyes roll back into his head.  
  
"Uranus! You're going to kill him before he gets to tell us anything!" The lecture was not one that Uranus wanted to be hearing but she knew she was right and loosened up a bit. "Why don't you just tell us where Kakyuu is and make this easy on yourself?" Neptune tried to reason with the man.  
  
"I'm right here." A voice came from the other side of the room drawing their attention away from the struggling man in Uranus's arms. "To what do I owe this honor?" She asked crossing the room delicately and climbed up to perch on her throne. She wasn't dressed in royal garments but instead in what looked to be a long silk robe tied to the side.  
  
"We've come for our Princess." Neptune said bowing before her. Uranus threw Zankou to the side but did not bow to this woman.  
  
"You bow now, after you've just barged in here?" Kakyuu laughed lightly at the display Neptune had shown before her. "Besides, what makes you think your Princess is here?"  
  
"Don't lead us around. We know she is here, we felt the energy of the silver crystal here." Uranus' patients were already becoming obsolete as she hissed back at Kakyuu through clenched teeth.  
  
"Usagi came here on her own free will, why do you assume I'm holding her here?" Kakyuu stood and walked to the two senshi.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Zankou ran as fast as he could down the halls, he didn't know if Kakyuu was in trouble or not, but the hold that the blond senshi had taken on him was anything but friendly. He had to find the Starlights, they were the Princess' bodyguards and therefore should be doing their job in protecting her.  
  
He rounded the corner of the hall to see Maker and Healer standing above Fighter on the ground with Lover. "Fighter, don't let her go!" Healer called out.  
  
"Some one mind telling me what's going on?" Maker asked shrugging her shoulders a bit. He saw Lover whisper something to Fighter but couldn't quite here what it was and then Fighter answered back causing a shocked expression to spread across Lover's features.  
  
"Starlights!" He yelled bringing them all to attention. All of their previous thoughts save one had left their minds. Healer spit in the man's face much to the surprise of her taller friend beside her. Zankou wiped it off but didn't address the issue. "The Princess is under attack in the throne room." He said in a low rumble slicing through Healer with his eyes.  
  
Healer and Maker took off down the hallway while Fighter and Lover stumbled to their feet. The loud thunder of heeled boots made its way down the hall and to the throne room in mere seconds and soon the Starlights were face to face with the Earth senshi, Uranus and Neptune. "Stay back." Kakyuu warned.  
  
"Run." Healer whispered over to Lover, but she refused to move. Fighter had caught wind of what she had demanded of the blond Starlight and became completely confused.  
  
"YOU!" Uranus pointed across the room to Fighter with her space sword. "You probably know just where she is too, don't you?"  
  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Fighter called back in anger, her body still in a fighting stance. She had no idea why Uranus and Neptune would be here let alone accusing her of anything. When the Starlights left Earth, Fighter assumed the terms between them and the outer senshi were good. It looks as though they were, but only because they wouldn't have to deal with them any further.  
  
Uranus was dead set in between the Starlights and Kakyuu. By now Kakyuu had risen from her throne when she noticed the entrance of Lover, and she had been with Fighter nonetheless. Anger was building in Uranus' features as Neptune kept a cool eye on Kakyuu. "Don't play dumb with me. Do you think we are blind? Did you think that we didn't know?"  
  
"She doesn't know where she is." Kakyuu cut in before anything further could be revealed.  
  
"Get the hell out of here... NOW!" Healer hissed lowly at Lover who was standing between her and Fighter. Again Fighter caught this but couldn't address it since she was a bit preoccupied with Uranus pointing her sword ominously in her direction.  
  
Uranus' eyes scanned the group of Starlights spotting the new oddball of the group. "Fine." She said calmly and sheathed her space sword. "If you don't want to tell us where you're keeping her..."  
  
WORLD SHAKING!!  
  
Her power erupted from her body and quickly ripped a path through the hard marble floor of the throne room and made a direct hit to its target. "LOVER!!" Kakyuu screamed as the Starlight took the blast and fell to the ground.  
  
Healer dropped to her knees and cradled the fallen senshi's head with her arms. "Hang on, you'll be alright." She held her close.  
  
"No..." Fighter gasped at the horror she had just witnessed. Uranus was once again coming between her and some one that she could share in happiness with. Maker just set herself and prepared for another attack.  
  
The blond haired Starlight, the one Kakyuu had called Lover had meant nothing to Uranus. She hadn't aided the Earth senshi in defending their planet or defeating Chaos, Uranus owed nothing to her. That is why she was the one that must take the blunt of her statement to heart. She chuckled slightly. "Well now, I guess you're going to have to bring her out now won't you?" Neptune smiled at her partner's brilliantly executed plan.  
  
Lover choked and blood began to trickle from the side of her mouth. The impact had simply been too much for her small body. Without energy to heal soon, she would surely die. "What are you waiting for?" Uranus was growing impatient. "Do you want to see her die?"  
  
Healer began crying a little which surprised both Fighter and Maker. She turned her eyes up from Lover's fading form to address Uranus. "What do you want us to do you've just about killed her!?" She screamed.  
  
"Exactly, I want you to bring Usagi out here now! That's the only way to save your little partner there, she's the only one who can heal those wounds."  
  
"Odango..." Fighter muttered with wide eyes under her breath. Why was she asking for Usagi? Was that why she came here? Did she believe Usagi was here? Everything was beginning to fall into place now.  
  
Kakyuu ran over to Healer and Lover on the ground and held Lover in her arms. Fighter's heart weakened a little, but quickly recovered now that word of her odango was involved. "Can't you see?" Kakyuu sobbed onto Lover who was fading in and out of consciousness. "This is Usagi! You've blasted your own Princess!" Kakyuu screamed to Uranus and Neptune who just stood there in utter shock.  
  
"Get... away... from me..." Lover breathed through clenched teeth at Kakyuu. Kakyuu looked down amazed at what had just escaped the blonde's lips.  
  
Healer looked at her eyeing her carefully and then looked up at Fighter who looked as though she was going to pass out. "She knows what you've been up to." The words hit Kakyuu like a dagger to the heart.  
  
While their conflict was going on Uranus and Neptune still doubted the authenticity of this senshi. "That's not our Princess." Uranus said taking a slow pace towards their circle.  
  
"Usagi, you have to understand..." Kakyuu sobbed and had lost her composure completely. "I love you, I had to do what I did so that I could be with you..." She clutched on to Lover's gloved hand.  
  
"That's not our Princess..." Uranus was slowly coming around and almost above the group on the floor.  
  
Lover used what little strength she had left to rip her hand from Kakyuu's hold. That exertion of strength took its toll on her as her transformation faded and left Usagi lying bleeding on the floor in Healer's arms. "Fighter... gomen... ne..."  
  
Fighter fell to her knees along side her odango on the floor. "Odango..." Tears were steadily falling down her face as the truth of the matter had finally reached the one person it needed to too late.  
  
"You knew she came here for Fighter and you still kept them apart! You knew how much they loved each other and your greed and own feelings played out for your malicious game to keep them from one another!" Healer had been full out crying for a while now and was now fit to take her full frustration out on her Princess. Usagi was going to have to pay for Kakyuu's selfishness with her life.  
  
"Koneko..." Uranus took the small girl up in her arms. "Gomen ne, I didn't know, gomen." It was the absolute first time that Neptune had ever seen her partner shed a tear and now it didn't look as though they were going to stop.  
  
Usagi smiled up weakly. "I know..."  
  
"I just wanted her to love me... I wanted her to look at me the way she looked at Fighter, I wanted that smile to be for me..." Kakyuu stood alone while standing trial in front of Healer, her accuser.  
  
Usagi had come to Kinmoku for her, she had actually left her home and traveled across space and time to be with her... and she never knew it. Now that she was here, in front of her, beckoning her to hold on to her, she was leaving forever. Dying a death she never should have without ever knowing how she truly felt about her. "Odango..."  
  
Usagi's eyes lit up one last time to look at Fighter. "Aishiteru..." The word slipped slowly off of her pale lips as her eyes closed for the last time and her body fell limp in Uranus' arms.  
  
Uranus placed her down on the floor and slowly backed away from the damage she had done. "No... she can't be gone..." she said ghostly quiet to herself.  
  
Fighter's eyes flashed with a million emotions and her body seemed to be frozen, she couldn't will her self to move if she wanted to. She watched as Healer took the girl in her arms and felt for a pulse. "She's... gone..." She said slowly bringing the lifeless body to her chest.  
  
Before Kakyuu knew what had happened, still staring down at the motionless figure of her love in Healer's arms, Fighter was almost upon her. If it hadn't been for Maker's body blockade in front of her, Fighter would have ripped the Princess limb from limb. "WHY!!??" She screamed at Kakyuu as the Princess just backed away with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Fighter..." Healer called from the ground looking up at Maker struggling to restrain her shorter companion.  
  
"WHY!!??"  
  
"Fighter, I just..." Kakyuu stammered on her words, she saw the raw emotion in Fighter's eyes, for the first time in her life she saw hate for her in her senshi's eyes. She knew there was nothing she could say now that would make everything all right. There was no use trying, she knew she would kill her if given the chance and this thought enraged her. "How am I any different from you? You once tried to woo and steal her away from her love, how does that make the two of us any different?" She didn't regret saying what she said, the eyes that Fighter had for her right now hurt and she wanted to reciprocate that pain.  
  
"WHAT?!" Fighter asked astonished. "How can you even presume to compare yourself to me? I left her with her love, I respected the fact that she loved him and not me, I only wanted to see her happy... HER happy not me... and that Princess is where we differ!"  
  
"Fighter..." Healer called once again from the ground holding Usagi in her arms still. "Fighter leave her, it's not worth it."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"They're gone." Zankou said as he walked across Kakyuu's bedroom to bring her a bowl of soup. She hadn't spoke to anyone since her confrontation with Fighter. "I have no idea where they went either. Maker disconnected our tracking devices before their departure so there was no way we could find them easily."  
  
"Let them be." Kakyuu said weakly. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her complexion was deathly pale.  
  
"But your majesty..."  
  
"I said leave them!" She snapped back not wanting to hear his lectures right now. Her senshi had abandoned her and taken along with them their friendship. She didn't blame them, after all, what kind of friend could she be to them now?  
  
Zankou sat on the bed beside the princess tucked under the covers. "At least we still have each other." He smiled at her and brushed her hair back to expose her face. Her entire appearance was unkempt and truly unbefitting of a princess.  
  
"I have no one." She spoke coldly and flatly. "Leave me I don't want anyone to touch me ever again." Zankou snarled a face at her while she continued to stare at the wall across from the foot of her bed, he got up and stormed out the door leaving Kakyuu alone forever.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The sweet familiar air blew in through the open window above her bed bringing with it the scent of cherry blossoms. The world was alive with the everyday sounds of the birds, lawn mowers and children playing outside. Usagi opened her eyes with a great deal of effort and found a white ceiling above her. Every once and a while the tail end of the curtain dancing in the breeze above her would come into her vision. Where was she?  
  
She felt as though she had no strength in her body but strained her muscles to sit upright and glance at her surroundings. She was in some one's bedroom, it looked as though it was a woman's. There were flowers sitting on the table at the end of the bed and more on the dresser and vanity. She felt suddenly very uncomfortable and alienated in her new surroundings. With a great deal of effort she brushed the covers off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Plush red carpeting met with her bare feet and the floorboards creaked under the added weight. She tried to push herself off of the bed to stand but only found herself back on its padding moments later.  
  
"Easy. Are you trying to hurt yourself again?"  
  
Usagi looked up into the familiar green eyes of Healer. "Where are we?" She asked agreeing to stay seated.  
  
Healer smiled at her and sat beside her on the bed. "We're home." Without prior warning she threw herself back and folded her hands behind her head in a relaxed position. "What do you think?" She asked turning her head to the side.  
  
Usagi looked at her completely confused and then looked around the room again. "Home? Whose room is this?"  
  
"Yours."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Healer propped her head up with her hand and rolled to her side. "You died." She winked at Usagi as Maker opened the door.  
  
"Oh I see sleeping beauty has awoken." She smiled as she joined the two in the room.  
  
"I died?" None of this was making sense and Healer seemed to be beating around the bush with her answers, at least she could count on Maker to be straight with her.  
  
"No, you didn't die, you almost did but you didn't." Maker said taking her pulse.  
  
"Do you remember what happened?" Healer asked seriously. Usagi just numbly nodded as the graphic scene replayed in front of her. "Well when I was holding you I pretended to take your pulse when you passed out. I told them you were dead so that they would leave you alone, so we could bring you here." She smiled unusually large being very proud of herself.  
  
"Where exactly is here?" Usagi asked afraid that they were still at the palace some how.  
  
"Earth." Maker exclaimed. "We brought you to Earth. We haven't contacted anyone since we got here... we weren't sure if you wanted to or not."  
  
Usagi nodded that she understood but then looked down at her hands in her lap. "And Fighter?"  
  
Healer looked to Maker and then turned to Usagi with a broad smile. "Yes, Fighter is here too." Usagi's face lit up at the news.  
  
"She's actually sleeping right now. A lot of her energy was drained and she'll be out for a while." Maker added the facts and then stood up when she was satisfied with Usagi's physical condition.  
  
"Why? What happened to her? What happened after I passed out?" Usagi was almost frantic and hysterical in her questioning but she needed to know.  
  
"Fighter is the one that kept you alive. She gave you her energy to keep you stable, if anything, she's the reason you're here today." Healer remembered the state Fighter was in when she thought that Usagi was dead. After Uranus and Neptune mysteriously disappeared and Kakyuu ran from the scene Healer told her of Usagi's true condition. From that moment on Fighter had done nothing but care for her and channel her energy into her in essence keeping her alive.  
  
Usagi began to tear up a bit and once again tried to push herself to her feet not caring how much pain it caused. She had to see Fighter. "Usagi you really need some more rest." Maker tried to pursway her done but Usagi was having none of it. Healer saw that it was no use and offered herself up as human crutch. Together Maker and Healer escorted Usagi into Fighter's room where she was sleeping soundly in her bed, or rather Seiya was. Fighter didn't have enough strength left to maintain her transformation and slipped back to Seiya.  
  
"Oh Seiya..." Usagi whispered as she knelt down at the sleeping woman's bedside. "Why did you have to go and do that?" Healer looked over at Maker and they knew to leave her alone, so without further questions the two left and shut the door behind them.  
  
She looked so beautiful and peaceful sleeping. Usagi ran a finger down the side of her face to trace her jaw line and then brushed two fingers gently over her lips. She didn't know why but she was crying, perhaps from joy or maybe it was the fact that she was responsible for her love being in this state. "Gomen..." Her voice was breathy and light as it carried her message through the air. "I wish I could say more, to tell you how truly sorry I am for all of this and any pain I've caused you but my words aren't enough. My words could never tell you how much I truly care for you. Maybe it would be better if I just left, that way I couldn't hurt you any more." Usagi sobbed and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her sleeve. "But for now I'll stay, I have to until you wake up so I can tell you that I'm sorry." Her head came down to rest on the side of the bed and sleep once again claimed her to its realm.  
  
Seiya woke up not really knowing what time it was but only that it must be late. It was dark in the room but it held that strange light that you only see at the brief moment of dusk. It was just such a light that she remembered leaving this planet to the last time they were here. It was so warm and calm yet the description didn't go well with her memories of that day. Taiki had told her that it was as if the sun was setting on that chapter in their life and now they had to look ahead to a new day. Yet here they were again.  
  
She turned her head over to glance at the alarm clock on the stand beside the bed and noticed a figure slumped over by her side. "Odango?" She asked brushing her fingers along the buns protruding from the head. What was she doing in here? Hadn't those two been taking care of her? But still... she came in here... she came to her...  
  
Usagi became startled with the sudden contact and brought her head up to open her eyes. The brilliance of azure met with cobalt and they stayed that way for what seemed like an eternity. "Seiya, I..." Usagi said pushing herself from the support of the bed and meagerly trying to stand. "I wanted to say thank you." She said trying to keep herself from breaking down and crying. She had to get through this. "I wanted to say thank you and I'm sorry."  
  
Seiya smiled at her sitting up. "What are you sorry for?" She asked not taking her eyes off the blond in front of her. "I'd do anything for you Odango."  
  
She had to say that didn't she? "I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you and the suffering that I brought upon you. I just wanted to tell you that before I left."  
  
Seiya became concerned and her heart started to pound in her chest. "What do you mean before you left?" She inched to the edge of the bed and sat with her feet resting on the floor in front of Usagi.  
  
"If I stay here I'll only cause you more pain and suffering, so it's better if I just go." Usagi turned away and started for the door. She knew Seiya was trying to get up and follow her but she didn't have the strength, Usagi used this to her advantage and moved quicker pausing momentarily at the door. "Even though I did all of those things, I always loved you." She couldn't hold the tears back any longer  
  
"Odango... Usagi please wait... don't leave me... not again... I couldn't take it again..." Seiya pleaded as she fell to the floor having used all of her strength to make it that far. "Please don't go... I'll be in much more pain if you do."  
  
Usagi turned around and saw the pitiful shape Seiya was in and the tears that were coming to her eyes. How could she leave her like this? She was asking her to stay, she wanted her here with her, and she wasn't pushing her away any longer. "Gomen!" Usagi called out and rushed over to her wrapping her arms around her tightly.  
  
Seiya threw her arms around her odango and held her as tight as she could for fear of losing her. "Promise me that you'll never leave again?"  
  
Usagi laughed through her tears. "I promise." She pulled away and wiped her tears to just plainly stare into her love's eyes. "How could I now?" And instead of an answer Usagi found herself wrapped up in a very passionate kiss, no longer one sided but heartfelt from both.  
  
"Do they have enough energy to be doing this?" Healer asked Maker as they stood above the couple on the floor.  
  
"I don't think so, but I'm not going to be the one to pull them apart!"  
  
Seiya and Usagi laughed at Maker's gesture and statement and resumed what they were doing. "Come on! At least wait until we've left the room!" Healer stated exasperated.  
  
"That reminds me? Why are you still here?" Seiya asked still on the floor.  
  
"She's our Princess, we have a duty to watch over her now." Healer pointed to Usagi in Seiya's arms.  
  
"Nani? I'm not your Princess. You two owe nothing to me."  
  
"Yes you are, and yes we do." Seiya commented, still holding on to her for dear life.  
  
"If I agree with you for now will you two leave us alone?" The two nodded. "Good, loose those fukus!"  
  
"Yeah, I'll watch over her for now!" Seiya said capturing Usagi's lips in yet another kiss giving Yaten and Taiki the hint.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I didn't know whether or not I was just going to leave this to end here or not. If you want me to go on I'm sure I could muster up something for one more chapter, just let me know! ^_~ Ja! 


	7. The End of the World

Well here it is, the last chapter of this fic. I hope you all enjoy it and I'm sorry for having kept you waiting so long. That wasn't my intentions, but I just moved and let's just say unpacking wasn't fun!! But I found my inspiration again. Arigato, you know who you are... Arigato to you all for reading this whole time, I really appreciate all of your great comments and reviews!  
  
[::Rekindling Stars::]  
  
by Lady in Red  
  
(The End of the World)  
  
They all thought she was dead by now, that is if Haruka had admitted her mistake to the rest of the senshi. Usagi was free to start her life over, as a normal person once again... but is that what she truly wanted? No. She missed the senshi, sure she had the Starlights with her now not to mention Seiya but there was still something missing.  
  
"You're thinking about them again aren't you?" Seiya asked looking up at her confusion from her resting place on Usagi's stomach. It was a lazy day and there hadn't been that much going on. The two lay on Usagi's bed just taking in the day.  
  
"Umm..." Usagi answered as she fingered a lock of the black hair brushing against her stomach. "How could I not?"  
  
Seiya knew the reasons why Usagi hadn't gone back to talk to the senshi yet but that didn't mean that she actually agreed with them. Usagi didn't want to face Mamoru and she didn't want to face the fact that she hadn't lived up to her destiny. In a way by running away from the senshi she was running away from herself. "You know how I feel about it, so it's up to you."  
  
She did know how Seiya felt about it, Seiya had been telling her all along that she thought it best for her to see the senshi again. After all, these are her friends, they had fought endless battles with one another for the sole purpose of protecting Earth and Usagi, their Princess. In the end Usagi would always have the same excuses and each time she excused the issue another was brought up. When the problem would plague Usagi's nerves she would resort to Kakyuu, she would come out with things like, `You guys left Kakyuu, why couldn't my senshi do the same to me?'. She would immediately regret what she had just said and apologize of course. Then Seiya would have to remind her that she wasn't vicious like Kakyuu, and that she knew she would never do anything like that to one of her friends.  
  
Usagi watched as Seiya got up from her comfortable position on the bed. "Where are you going?" Usagi asked as she sat up and noticed that Seiya had stopped to turn around to address her. "Who says I'm through with you yet?"  
  
Seiya turned around and headed back over to the bed where she had just been. "We can't stay in here all day." She said crawling seductively back to Usagi. "There's a whole world out there waiting for us."  
  
Usagi smiled and lightly kissed Seiya in front of her. "Exactly. Let them wait, I did." She said as began to deepen the kisses between the two. Seiya didn't pull away, her words in no way reflected her actions. "You know, I could spend the rest of my life just staying in this room with you." Usagi said as Seiya's lips had left her own and were now traveling down her exposed neckline. "I thought you were leaving?" She giggled slightly as she lay back on the bed while Seiya moved into position on top of her not missing a beat in her compellation of kisses.  
  
"Look at me here I go..." Seiya smiled as she came up and kissed the blonde's lips once more. "Can't you see me I'm out the door!" She scooped the smaller girl up in her arms and felt the warmth of her body press against her own. Usagi laughed at her statement and in turn wrapped her arms around her also pushing her knee between her legs to create as much contact as possible between the two.  
  
There was a knock at the door and Usagi stopped immediately to make an apparently disgruntled face while Seiya kept up her little seduction. "Who is it?" Usagi asked impatiently while Seiya trailed her kisses back down Usagi's neck so that she could still talk but Seiya could try her best to distract her at the same time.  
  
"It's Yaten, I wanted to know what you were doing for lunch?" Her voice was muffled from the other side of the door but was clear enough to make out what she was saying.  
  
Seiya's fingers had magically worked all of the buttons free on Usagi's upper half of her shirt and exposed her vulnerable chest. She took one of the small pink nipples into her mouth and heard Usagi moan a bit at her action, to get more of a rise out of her she began to nibble at the bud with her teeth. "Uhmmm..." Usagi moaned.  
  
"Nani?" Yaten asked from the other side of the door.  
  
Usagi tried her best to keep her composure but it was fading fast as Seiya was moving down her body and fast. "Um nothing!" Usagi tried to cover up for her unintentional noise earlier.  
  
"Great, since you're doing nothing would you have lunch with me?" Yaten asked but her question came across as somewhat of a plea.  
  
Shit, Usagi thought, she hadn't meant for that to come out that way. She had to think of something quick to get herself out of it. Seiya licked the inside of her thigh as she began to pull at her panties already smelling Usagi's excitement. What harm could having lunch with Yaten be? She questioned herself but then felt Seiya's tongue being a bit inquisitive in a very sensitive area. How could she leave this? "Sure can you give me a minute?" Usagi called her voice cracking a bit as Seiya plunged her tongue deep inside of her at the same moment.  
  
"I guess..." Yaten said. "Can I come in?" She asked with her hand on the knob.  
  
Seiya began to go at her work furiously, she knew Usagi couldn't keep herself quiet when she was about to reach that point. "NO!!" Usagi screamed just wanting to get Yaten away.  
  
"Are you alright?" Yaten heard a bit of distress in Usagi's voice and thought she might be trying to hide a problem of some sort. "Usagi I'm coming in."  
  
Finally Usagi's passion broke and her body relaxed under the gentle waves of pleasure that came washing over her. Seiya quickly pulled her skirt down so that all of the evidence was covered and watched Usagi lay back with her eyes closed and a goofy sort of smirk on her face. Yaten opened the door and looked around the room to see what was going on. She saw Seiya sitting up next to Usagi smiling one of her devilish grins like she had just done something wrong and Usagi was lying back on her pillows perfectly still. "Nice to see you Yaten." Seiya commented and stood up.  
  
Yaten knew something was going on that she wasn't being told about but couldn't quite figure out what it was until she saw the moisture glistening off of Seiya's face when she stood up. Her hand immediately came up to her face as she tried to cover her blush. "Why me?" She asked to no one in particular but heard Seiya laughing at her.  
  
Usagi finally came to her senses and sat back up to address Yaten properly. "Sorry about that." She said a bit shyly.  
  
Yaten saw the glow in her face, she had known what had just happened and couldn't help but find herself feeling completely jealous of the fact. No, she didn't want Seiya or Usagi, she just wanted some one of her own to do those kinds of things with. She hated being alone. Sure she had Taiki to keep her company when these two would go off and do this sort of thing, which was a little too often, but that just wasn't enough. "No, you don't have to apologize, I just seem to have a horrible habit of walking in on you at the absolute WRONG times! But I would still like to go to lunch with you."  
  
Seiya had finished wiping her mouth and returned to sit on the bed with Usagi and Yaten. "Do you mind if I come, I'm starved." Then her eyes narrowed and focused in on Yaten's face. "Or are you planning something that I can't be around for?"  
  
"Eh?" Yaten gave a start and Seiya's serious complexion melted away with her laughter.  
  
"I'm just kidding." She received a playful punch from Usagi in her arm. "So, can I come?"  
  
"Sure, I don't see why not." Yaten shrugged and looked down. Usagi's blond hair was tossed on the bed next to her long slender legs and Yaten's eyes couldn't help but follow them up farther until she saw the string of her panties poking out from under her skirt. Without thinking her hand came over so that she could feel the smoothness of her exposed leg.  
  
"So, we'd better be going then." Seiya said getting up which pulled Yaten from her thoughts.  
  
"Right." Yaten replied but didn't get up to follow her. Seiya had walked out the door by now and Usagi was getting up to fix herself up to go out.  
  
"So what's the occasion that you want to go out for lunch?" Usagi asked taking her hair down so that she could brush it out. Seiya hadn't exactly been gentle when it came to brushing her around on the bed.  
  
Yaten watched Usagi intently as she let out her hair to hang down her back... just like Minako's. "I wanted to talk to you about something." Yaten got up and walked over to Usagi standing in front of the mirror.  
  
"Sure go ahead." Usagi noticed Yaten approaching her but didn't think anything of it.  
  
"Well we've grown to be pretty good friends, at least I think anyway." Yaten watched as Usagi nodded her head and kept brushing her hair. "I wanted to know what you thought about me going to see the senshi..."  
  
Usagi stopped brushing her hair and just looked at Yaten in the mirror. "Why do you want to go and see them? I thought you weren't too fond of them?"  
  
"Well the truth is I only want to see one of them... she's always on my mind and I guess I just need to know either way what would happen." Yaten's eyes were on the golden tresses in front of her and she soon found herself burying her face in them. "Minako..."  
  
Usagi was startled when Yaten came up that close to her but became even more alarmed when she put her arms around her waist to draw her near. "Yaten!" She wiggled free from her hold and stared at her silver haired friend. "I'm not Minako."  
  
Yaten's eyes were wide. "Gomen... you see, I can't control myself, I get to thinking about her and the longing is becoming almost too much. I think if I see Minako again it will solve the whole mystery that I've been trying to fight."  
  
"Then see her." Usagi smiled kindly at her, she wasn't mad, she understood. She had practically gone through the same thing. Yaten looked up at her surprised, neither of them saw Taiki looking on. "If you want we can forget about lunch." She winked.  
  
"But what about you? Do you want me to tell her about you?"  
  
"No, I have different thoughts about that. Don't mention the fact that you know anything about me, they will find out soon enough." Usagi hugged her friend and pushed her on her way. "Now get out of here!" Since they wouldn't be going to lunch, Usagi figured that she could finally jump in the shower to ease some of the tension brought on by the previous conversations of the day.  
  
"Since when do we have lunch in the shower?" Seiya asked from the steamy bathroom while Usagi sang in the shower. "Yaten had better not be in there with you." She warned as she held her hand on the toilet lever just in case. A nice hot blast of water would be a good start to show the two how pissed off she was.  
  
Usagi just laughed from the shower. "Maybe she is." She peeked around the side of the frosted glass to see Seiya's hand in the threatening position on the toilet. "We were waiting for you to come in here to join us."  
  
Seiya's mind thought about that one for a minute. Both of them? Hmmm, she couldn't say that similar thoughts hadn't crossed her mind before but then it always came down to the fact that she didn't want to share Usagi with anyone. Seiya walked over to the opening of the shower and kissed Usagi without bothering to look in the shower. "I think I'll pass." She smiled.  
  
Usagi smiled, apparently pleased with her reaction and just kissed her again. "You're not getting out of this that easily." She pulled Seiya into the shower fully clothed and kissed her passionately under the steady stream of warm water.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hello, Minako?"  
  
"Yes? Who is this?" Minako didn't recognize the voice, she didn't know this woman, it wasn't her agent.  
  
"This is Yaten. I was wondering if I could see you?"  
  
Minako nearly dropped the phone and almost passed out on the floor. Yaten was calling, but wait, she sounded female. "Uh, uh... um..." Damn it Minako, just say something, you sound like a fool! She cursed herself mentally.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Um... yeah, I would love to see you." Good now that you got that out you just have to work on the rest of the conversation. Man, you really are blond aren't you?! No one was worse on criticizing Minako than Minako herself and she was really taking it out on herself right now.  
  
"Great, can I come over? That is if you're not busy."  
  
Minako managed to give Yaten her address and finish up the conversation without too much of a further incident. When she found the relief of hanging up the phone she flopped down in the chair next to her desk. She had just come back into town from a trip to England and now this. She needed a break, perhaps this was just what the doctor ordered though. She smiled at herself and looked at the clock. Yaten said she would be there within the hour, which gave her limited time to get ready.  
  
Yaten walked out of her room beaming a smile a mile wide. It had taken all the nerve she had to just pick up the phone to call Minako but she had finally done it and it had definitely been worth it. She would get to see her in an hour, she would be happy in an hour.  
  
"That sounded like it went well." Taiki mused from her position on the couch. She had over heard the conversation from Yaten's room. "She was completely infatuated with you when we were here the last time you know."  
  
"Really?" Of course Yaten knew that, the whole world practically knew that, but the question was would she still be now? "I didn't notice."  
  
Taiki scuffed at the remark and turned the page of her book. "I wouldn't get your hopes up." She was almost lecturing her.  
  
"We'll see." Nothing was bringing her down from cloud nine at the moment no matter how much sense Taiki's comment made.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The hour had practically flown by and Minako was all but ready for Yaten's long awaited arrival. The doorbell chimed and she rushed from the bathroom to answer it in a timely manner. It had been a long time since Minako had gotten this worked up over seeing anyone. She had a career now to keep her mind off of chasing boys and the rest of her social life. An idol, this is what she had always wanted to be, but at what cost had she paid to become what she was today? Minako opened the door to reveal a petite woman in a light green sundress and sandals standing at her doorstep, she was at a loss for words at the sight.  
  
"Hello Minako." Yaten smiled and noticed Minako's obviously flabbergasted state. "May I come in?"  
  
Minako had never seen Yaten as a woman before, well not except as a senshi, but still she looked different, striking. "Um sure, gomen." She moved out of the way and watched the silver haired woman who she used to think she was in love with slip by her. Used to be?  
  
"So what have you been up to lately?" Yaten asked as she walked further in to the room and turned around to face Minako sending the lower part of her dress flowing around her. She saw the awards on a shelf near the television and a few magazine covers framed on the wall. "Busy I see."  
  
"Yeah, you could say that." Minako said still in a bit of a daze. "I'm a singer and a model now."  
  
"Honto? That's great! Congratulations, I see you finally found your dream, ne?" Yaten was smiling innocently, she was really happy for Minako. She had known that this was her dream, although she couldn't see why she would ever want to deal with the pressures of being an idol along with being a senshi.  
  
"Why are you here?" The question seemed to come out of nowhere and Minako felt stupid for saying it the way she had.  
  
"Do you not want me here?" Yaten's smile faded as she searched Minako's face for an answer.  
  
"No, that's not what I meant, gomen. I meant why are you back on Earth?"  
  
Yaten felt a little relieved to say the least at her correction. "I'm living here now. Can we just leave it at that for now?" She asked with her hands behind her back.  
  
Minako smiled and nodded. She didn't really care why she was back just that Yaten was here. "Tea?" Yaten nodded and followed her into the kitchenette to help. In no time the two were sitting on the couch talking to one another about nothing and anything at all.  
  
"Don't you communicate with the other senshi?" Yaten questioned putting her cup down in its saucer.  
  
"No one really speaks to one another, we did off and on for a while. It was nothing that you could really call communicating though, it was more the less checking up on one another. Each one of us went after our dreams, sadly it didn't look like we could keep room for everyone in that dream." Minako paused and appeared to have gotten lost in her thoughts while staring into her tea. The tan liquid circulated in the cup but reflected a distorted image of Minako's face on its surface. Distorted, that's how she had become. "Then after Usagi's death I haven't spoken to any of them." Minako picked her head up to look Yaten in the eye. "I'm assuming you knew, ne?"  
  
There was a sadness in her eyes at the mere mention of Usagi's name, if she only knew. "Yes, I knew."  
  
"And Seiya? How did, he... I mean she take it?"  
  
Yaten noticed Minako's obvious fumble of her words and realized that was how she saw them... as males. Was there going to be space in her life for Yaten now that she wasn't a male, after all, there didn't seem to be room for her closest friends, why would she be an exception? "Oh, well let's just say that ... well I'd rather not say." Yaten remembered clearly the reaction that Fighter had to Usagi's death and it was not a pretty picture, but then she also remember how elated she was when she found out the truth. Yaten could do the same for Minako.  
  
"I understand." She looked down again.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come here and drag up all of these memories for you. Do you want me to leave?" Yaten noticed the fall in her mood, she had a new life now, and looked as though she didn't want to be reminded of who she used to be.  
  
Minako's hand came over to rest on Yaten's. "No, gomen, I want you to stay."  
  
Yaten smiled at her touch and looked up into her eyes but her heart was soon let down when Minako looked down real quickly and removed her hand. "Taiki tells me that you used to have a crush on me when we were here last time." She smiled over at Minako. She was just as beautiful as she remembered her being, only now more mature, totally fitting the description of a goddess of love and beauty.  
  
"Oh, well maybe I did." Minako smiled but then cursed herself inwardly. Don't lead her on, you're not interested in women, even if you were completely head over heels with her the last time she was here it was different. Why? Because she wasn't a she, she was a he!  
  
Yaten moved a bit closer to Minako on the couch and sensed her nervousness, but played it off because of her own pounding heart in her chest. She was coming to the moment of truth, the one moment that she had been waiting for, but would she accept her? "Did, huh? Are you saying that you don't any more?" She looked her right in the eyes, she didn't want to miss the emotions that were obvious in her big blue eyes.  
  
"I don't know." Stupid, stupid, you should have said no! God Minako, for being the goddess of love you sure are dumb when it comes to it. But it's Yaten... and Yaten is Yaten right? No, Yaten is a GIRL!  
  
Yaten didn't know how to respond to that, she was hoping that Minako would have given her a straightforward answer, but there was still a chance in the answer that she did get. She was going to have to lay her cards on the table. "When we were on Earth before I was so preoccupied with finding my Princess and the war that I didn't realize where anything was heading. I guess I didn't realize how much I cared about you until it was too late and I was a million stars away." She had turned her entire body towards Minako on the couch tucking her feet under herself bringing her face only inches from Minako's. She leaned in...  
  
"Yaten." Minako spoke, they were so close that Yaten could feel her breath fanning on her lips. Her eyes danced from hers to her lips then back again. Those deep green eyes, they had always mesmerized her and she felt herself being drawn in closer still to them. But they didn't belong to the Yaten she used to know, the Yaten she fell in love with. Love, where did that come from?  
  
Minako hadn't spoken for a long moment now and Yaten was starting to become more nervous and began to loose her nerve all together. It was now or never, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Minako's.  
  
Minako pulled back suddenly and stared at Yaten with wide eyes. Yaten's face reciprocated her own shock. "Yaten I'm sorry." She hadn't loved Yaten, even if she thought she did she couldn't have, she couldn't accept her now, so she couldn't have loved her.  
  
"So am I." Yaten said resuming a more comfortable position on the couch.  
  
If only things could be back the way they were before. "You know, if you could still become a guy this could work." Minako said half seriously.  
  
Yaten cringed at the thought. "Yeah, well I can become a male again, but would you live the rest of your life as a guy for me? That's not who I am... and that's not who I want to be."  
  
"Gomen, I shouldn't have asked that of you." Minako suddenly felt ashamed of herself for even thinking that she ever would have agreed to that. She felt bad that she couldn't love her back, but that's not who she was either. It's not that she wasn't open-minded, she just wasn't gay. "Think we can start over?" She smiled a bit.  
  
Yaten smirked at her comment. "Sure, but for now I think I'm going to take off." She knew that Minako wouldn't question her why, it was pretty obvious that she was anything but comfortable right now. "I'll keep in touch with you Minako."  
  
"I'd love that."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So, how did it go?" Seiya asked Yaten as she walked in the door of their apartment. By the look on Yaten's face she could tell that it didn't go well so she knew well enough not to tease her about it right now.  
  
"Fine." Yaten said flatly and began to walk to the patio out the back door.  
  
Usagi came into the living room and leaned over the back of the couch to kiss Seiya on her forehead while she played some insane car racing game on her new game console. "Hello beautiful." Seiya's tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth as she was deep in consentration with the game at hand. Usagi was getting annoyed with being ignored and walked around the couch to stand in front of the television.  
  
"OH GOD I'M GONNA CRASH!!" Seiya screamed as she ducked and bobbed her head around to get a good view of the television. "Odango, are you going to stand in the way of me becoming Grand Turismo champion of the world? Come on!" She pouted at the same time but didn't get her very far.  
  
Usagi laughed at the effort she was still putting into the race. "Now could I ever stand in your way of doing that?" She moved aside and came up to sit behind Seiya on the couch. She ran her hands up Seiya's sides pulling her shirt up slightly as she did so.  
  
"What are you doing?" Seiya asked, her fingers flying dangerously on the controller in front of her. Usagi began to kiss her neck and fondle her breasts. "Odango..." Seiya warned then tensed up when she screwed up on the track. Usagi began to take more of Seiya's flesh into her mouth with each kiss leaving a wet trail down her neck. Within mere seconds Seiya threw the controller across the room and turned around to take on Usagi.  
  
"You won't become Grand what ever champion this way you know." Usagi laughed in between kisses. Seiya just laughed along with her and continued what she was doing. "Seiya...?"  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"Promise me that you'll be here with me tomorrow night."  
  
"I promise. Why?"  
  
"Just because..."  
  
Taiki made her way out on to the patio in the back yard seeing Yaten just sitting in the lawn not too far from the stony floor. She knew things couldn't have gone well with Minako and she sighed inwardly. "May I join you?" She asked but began to sit down before receiving an answer.  
  
"She didn't love me." Yaten said flatly and just stared at the tree line in the distance. "This whole time I had myself worked up to be with Minako again and she didn't love me." Taiki didn't say a word and she was thankful for that, she just needed to get this out of her. "You know what the strange part about it is though? I'm not that upset about it."  
  
"Oh?" Taiki held the same sights as Yaten did across the green yard.  
  
"I don't know, I guess Minako didn't really mean anything, she was just something to hold onto so that I didn't feel empty."  
  
"And do you feel empty now?"  
  
"No." Yaten looked over at Taiki who was still watching the tree line. "She was just something for me to strive for, the unreachable goal to keep me going."  
  
"Sometimes we need to do that." Taiki always had the answers and that bugged Yaten sometimes, nothing was unpredictable to her, she always knew what was going to happen.  
  
"But I guess you already knew that, ne?" Yaten asked with a smile and saw Taiki nod a bit.  
  
Taiki sat up and began to play with the grass in front of her, Yaten didn't remember her ever having any nervous habits like this before, she knew there was something on her mind. "You know, I can be whatever you want me to be."  
  
"Eh?" The statement shocked Yaten, what was she proposing?  
  
Taiki looked straight into Yaten's eyes with an intensity that she hadn't seen since they had been searching for their Princess. "If you need help, or you decide that you want to be with a man, I would become a man for the rest of my life if that is what would make you happy."  
  
Yaten was taken aback by her words and didn't know what to say in response. "I ... uh..."  
  
"It's ok. You don't have to say anything." Taiki threw down the pieces of grass she had shredded in her hands. "I didn't expect you to." Before Taiki could say anything else she found Yaten's lips pressed firmly against her own and only responded by encircling her long arms around her and kissing her back.  
  
When the kiss was finally broken Yaten looked at Taiki with a smile. "Did you predict that I would do that?" Yaten asked adding a wink at the end.  
  
"Not at all, although I can't say that I'm complaining!" She smiled and kissed her again to make sure that she hadn't just done it for the shock factor.  
  
Yaten kissed her back but this time held her in her arms when they broke away. "I like you just the way you are."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Odango, you're starting to scare me, what's going on?" Seiya asked as she saw Usagi constantly looking out at the window up at the stars nervously.  
  
"We'd better get going. Will you tell Taiki and Yaten that we need them?" Usagi was running around as though she was about to leave the apartment for a while getting everything in order.  
  
"Yeah, but why?"  
  
"Please Seiya, just do it."  
  
Seiya did as she was asked and went to Yaten's room to fetch her, she figured Yaten would need the most time to get ready so she would fetch her first and then Taiki. Seiya knocked at the door and spoke at the same time. "Yaten get out here, Odango needs you."  
  
"I'm busy!" Yaten's reply came from the other side of the door.  
  
"Damn you get out here now, I think it's something important!" Seiya's patients were almost non-existent. The stress of worrying about Usagi's problem had taken its toll on her.  
  
"If it's so important, you take care of it!" Yaten's voice also held annoyance in it and that only fed Seiya's.  
  
"Do I have to come in there and drag you out?!" Seiya was shouting now and banging on the door.  
  
"You'd better not!!" Yaten warned. "Go AWAY!"  
  
"Screw you!!" Seiya said as she turned the handle and barged into the room only to find a very red and blushing Taiki and Yaten in a huddled mass on Yaten's bed. "I guess this is pay back?" Seiya said coming over to sit on the bed.  
  
"Get the hell out of here!" Yaten screamed amazed that Seiya had the nerve to just sit here and hang out like nothing was going on. At least the blankets covered them.  
  
"It's about time you know!" Seiya said as she took a casually lounged position on the bed.  
  
"Seiya... uh... if you don't mind..." Taiki said trying to be the voice of reason here and to get back to what she was doing.  
  
"Yeah Seiya, if you don't mind not being a complete ass for like five minutes and getting the hell out of here, it would surely make your chances of having a good day tomorrow better!!" Yaten threw a pillow at Seiya's face just as Usagi walked in the door.  
  
"Oh god!" She covered her eyes and grabbed Seiya by the arm and ushered her out of the room. When they were out in the hall she punched Seiya in the arm. "What the hell were you doing?"  
  
"Ow!" Seiya said rubbing her arm. "I was just getting them like you asked me to!"  
  
Usagi sighed. "Well leave them alone. We can do this ourselves. Hurry up and henshin." Usagi said as she took out her broach.  
  
"NANI?!" Seiya was alarmed. "Odango what the hell is going on?"  
  
When Usagi was done transforming they went out into the backyard. "The entire world is going to freeze over for a thousand years."  
  
"Oh is that all?" Seiya asked as though it was no big deal. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!"  
  
"I just did! Now come on, we have to teleport to the moon."  
  
Seiya's mind was going a million miles a second but she did as she was asked and soon Fighter stood ready for action. "But we can't just leave Taiki and Yaten behind!" Fighter turned to go back into the house to fetch the two lovebirds.  
  
"They'll be fine." Usagi said pulling her broach from her chest and opening it up to reveal the silver crystal.  
  
Fighter didn't see how they could be fine, she did just say that the world was going to freeze over how could they just be fine. But she trusted her Odango and she knew she loved Taiki and Yaten very much and would never see any harm come to either one of them. Before Fighter could further question Sailor Moon's actions she found herself engulfed in a white light. When the light and the momentum of moving faded she found herself in a gray wasteland. "Is this the moon?" Fighter asked looking around.  
  
Sailor Moon nodded and just stared at Earth. "Look there..." She pointed to a comet heading towards the giant blue planet.  
  
"So?" Fighter asked not really impressed with its show. She had seen millions of comets before. "Wait a minute, is that going to hit the Earth going that fast?" She asked now realizing the danger that the planet she now called home was in.  
  
"Yes, the comet will strike Earth and force it from its axis. Since the Earth has been moved from its position near the sun the entire globe will freeze over for a thousand years." Sailor Moon explained as she watched the comet draw nearer.  
  
"Why a thousand years?" Fighter asked certainly impressed that her Odango knew all of this.  
  
"In a thousand years the planet would have drifted back towards the sun close enough to thaw out the damage. When the planet thaws, I am supposed to heal it with my crystal." She held the silver crystal up to demonstrate. "But that's not going to happen that way."  
  
"What are you talking about? Do you plan to move the entire planet back into orbit once the comet has struck it?" Fighter asked incredulously. She knew Sailor Moon was powerful but she had her doubts that she could move an entire planet.  
  
"No, I'm going to stop the comet from hitting it in the first place. I have to wait for it to get close enough though." Sailor Moon stopped studying the foreign object soaring towards her home and looked to Fighter. "I don't want to be Queen, I don't want any part of that future... I don't want a future where I'm not supposed to be with you."  
  
"Odango..." Fighter's gloved hand came up to her face as she watched Sailor Moon smile in response to her.  
  
Sailor Moon took her eyes away from her love's and directed them back to the comet, which was just about in position. "I'm going to need your help." She said bringing her crystal out to float between her hands in front of her.  
  
"You know I'll do anything for you." Fighter smiled and stood in position behind her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The sailor senshi of Earth had gathered together for the occasion. They all knew what was to happen in the next moments. The end of the world. Now that Usagi was gone they doubted that Earth would survive such a catastrophe and weren't sure if they would live to see another day after this one. "We always depended too much on her." Makoto chuckled a bit at her thoughts. The mood was somber but there was no use in being completely morbid for your last moments alive.  
  
Minako smiled slightly in response to her statement and looked up into the night sky. "Was she happy when she died?" She asked to Haruka without really looking at her.  
  
Haruka looked down from the sky and to her feet. She knew that Usagi wasn't happy when she died. She hadn't achieved the love she had been looking for although it looked as though she was about to, but she wasn't about to tell the others that. "Yes, she seemed to be very happy."  
  
"Good." Minako smiled at the thought of Usagi getting to fulfill her own dream before her untimely death.  
  
Haruka sat with her arms around Michiru on the lawn while Hotaru sat on Setsuna's lap near them. The four inners stood quietly on the edge of the porch also staring up at the night sky to catch a glimpse of their demise. Mamoru just stood back in the shadows not really knowing why he was even there in the first place. He had never really felt a connection between the other senshi and himself, the only common thread they seemed to have was Usagi... but now she was gone. No one blamed him for finding a new love after she had disappeared, but some of them suspected that this new love of his wasn't just a new revelation.  
  
"Look!" Hotaru pointed into the distant heavens. "There it is!"  
  
No one said a word though there were thousands of things on their minds. To tell one another how much they loved each other, how they were all sorry that they had grown apart and how they were all sorry that none of them could have been there for Usagi when she truly needed them. A blinding white light brought them out of their thoughts and forced their attention to the moon.  
  
"The silver crystal!" Michiru gasped and the group's eyes went wide.  
  
"She's alive..." Haruka was too in complete and utter shock but that soon faded and she jerked herself to an upright position. "Ready?" She asked looking from Michiru to Setsuna and Hotaru and finally to the inners and Mamoru.  
  
Everyone nodded in unison before they henshined for the first time in a long time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Moon and Fighter stood on the desert rock for a moment to take in the beautiful sight of the planet they had just saved. "Shall we?" Fighter asked assuming they would be going home now.  
  
"No, they'll be here soon." Moon replied with a faint smile to her lips. Fighter looked at her puzzled.  
  
"Sailor Moon..." The senshi of Mars said before putting a hand up to her agape mouth.  
  
Moon turned around allowing her pigtails to stream around her, with the wings on her back she looked like a true angel. The smile that graced her features only improved the look. "Hello minna." She spoke from beside Fighter.  
  
Before she knew what was going on she found herself wrapped in an eight-person glomp. Once everyone backed off to give her room Uranus was the first to speak, and there appeared to be faint tears in her eyes. "Nothing can keep you down, ne? I'm so happy that you're alright."  
  
"Fighter saved me." Moon smiled and took the Starlight's gloved hand into her own. Uranus bowed and showed respect to Fighter for the first time saying thank you with a very deep bow.  
  
"Yaten knew that whole time too, didn't she?" Venus laughed through her tears. Moon and Fighter's smiles only confirmed her suspicions.  
  
"Princess, you know that there will be no Crystal Tokyo now, ne?" Pluto stepped forward aware of the events that were no longer going to be.  
  
"Yes, I'm aware, but can any of you truly say you're disappointed?" Moon asked with a smile on her lips. "Now you are all free to follow your own dreams not just be some mindless puppets in mine."  
  
"This time will be different." Mars said looking into Moon's eyes. "This time we'll all be together to share in one another's dreams." 


End file.
